[ILLigitt]

Bush lifts wage rules for Katrina
President signs executive order allowing contractors to pay below prevailing wage in affected areas.
September 11, 2005: 11:59 AM EDT

President Bush suspends part of the law protecting wages paid by federal contractors in rebuilding effort. CNN's Lisa Sylvester reports.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush issued an executive order Thursday allowing federal contractors rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to pay below the prevailing wage.

In a notice to Congress, Bush said the hurricane had caused "a national emergency" that permits him to take such action under the 1931 Davis-Bacon Act in ravaged areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The Davis-Bacon law requires federal contractors to pay workers at least the prevailing wages in the area where the work is conducted. It applies to federally funded construction projects such as highways and bridges.

Bush's executive order suspends the requirements of the Davis-Bacon law for designated areas hit by the storm.

Bush's action came as the federal government moved to provide billions of dollars in aid, and drew rebukes from two of organized labor's biggest friends in Congress, Rep. George Miller of California and Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, both Democrats.

"The administration is using the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to cut the wages of people desperately trying to rebuild their lives and their communities," Miller said.

"President Bush should immediately realize the colossal mistake he has made in signing this order and rescind it and ensure that America puts its people back to work in the wake of Katrina at wages that will get them and their families back on their feet," Miller said.

"I regret the president's decision," said Kennedy.

"One of the things the American people are very concerned about is shabby work and that certainly is true about the families whose houses are going to be rebuilt and buildings that are going to be restored," Kennedy said.

[Mulderator]

For any of you Moore-Ons worrying about slave wages, here are the "prevailing rates"

http://www.gpo.gov/davisbacon/la.html

Go to Orleans County. Most of the rates are over $20 an hour! -- $5.00 and hour probably goes to the unions!

Let's not forget most of these people don't have insurance and although federal funds will pay for much of the rebuilding, people will have to pay out of their pockets.

I wonder how many of you Moore-Ons would prefer to be forced to pay wage rates of over $20 and hour instead of what you could negotiate in a free market exchange with a contractor!

[poochee]

Originally Posted by ILLigitt

Bush lifts wage rules for Katrina
President signs executive order allowing contractors to pay below prevailing wage in affected areas.
September 11, 2005: 11:59 AM EDT

President Bush suspends part of the law protecting wages paid by federal contractors in rebuilding effort. CNN's Lisa Sylvester reports.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush issued an executive order Thursday allowing federal contractors rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to pay below the prevailing wage.

In a notice to Congress, Bush said the hurricane had caused "a national emergency" that permits him to take such action under the 1931 Davis-Bacon Act in ravaged areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The Davis-Bacon law requires federal contractors to pay workers at least the prevailing wages in the area where the work is conducted. It applies to federally funded construction projects such as highways and bridges.

Bush's executive order suspends the requirements of the Davis-Bacon law for designated areas hit by the storm.

Bush's action came as the federal government moved to provide billions of dollars in aid, and drew rebukes from two of organized labor's biggest friends in Congress, Rep. George Miller of California and Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, both Democrats.

"The administration is using the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to cut the wages of people desperately trying to rebuild their lives and their communities," Miller said.

"President Bush should immediately realize the colossal mistake he has made in signing this order and rescind it and ensure that America puts its people back to work in the wake of Katrina at wages that will get them and their families back on their feet," Miller said.

"I regret the president's decision," said Kennedy.

"One of the things the American people are very concerned about is shabby work and that certainly is true about the families whose houses are going to be rebuilt and buildings that are going to be restored," Kennedy said.

It figures.

[Mulderator]

Originally Posted by poochee

It figures.

Did you read my post or ignore it?

Do you think people should be forced to pay more than $20 an hour to rebuil their homes when they can do it for $15?

I just don't get your logic. Either people pay through the nose so unions can make money and other can get rich off their misfortune or we allow people to bargain for the best price. What position are you taking?

[poochee]

Yes, $20.

And while they are at it raise the minimum wage.

[Mulderator]

See here is what I don't understand and I would like a Moore-On's perspective to help me.

Bush had pledged hundreds of billions in aid to poor people. Certainly the Moore-Ons would agree that's a good thing. Yet, you then villainize him because he also relieves these same poor people of the obligation to ver pay artifically inflated wages--i.e., they can get more for their bang. Arguably, he's hurting the worker that would earn more money while helping the poor and the NO community. Why should the poor be forced to pay over $20 an hour for labor?

Honestly, I want a Moore-On perspective as to why its better to have an artificially set wage that is over the prevailing wages in the area for "non-federal" contracts?

[Mulderator]

Originally Posted by poochee

Yes, $20.

What does that mean?

Originally Posted by poochee

And while they are at it raise the minimum wage.

What does that have t do with anything?

[izme]

Republican thoughts

The low life pig scum workers deserve only minimum wage at no more than 30 hours a week with no damned benefits, we are changing corporate America. In Bush-economics...the Corporations are the major profiteers and if you don't like it we can always use Companies and workers from India to do those jobs. With a global reach, now American workers are on the bottom of the food chain and must fight for scraps, what more do they deserve from a Republican? Now shut up or I am sending you to Iraq. Where if anything like agent orange comes into play we will just deny it and let our soldiers live with the feeling of being railroaded by a government that sent them, see we don't really care about anyone but our rich selves and profit. Remember citizens of America.........YOU ARE EXPENDABLE!!! j/k

[Mulderator]

Originally Posted by poochee

And while they are at it raise the minimum wage.

Have you ever taken an economics course? Do you think that if we double the minimum wage that people will be less poor? Is that what you believe?

You do realize that the people earning minimum wage are also by and large the same people who shop and buy low prices items. So, for example, if they go to Walmart for a shirt that cost $10 and then you double the minimum wage, then the shirt now cost more than $15.

Also, there are many people working transitional jobs. In fact, most of the minimum wage jobs are transitional, which means they are filled by students or young people who are going to move on to better jobs. If you pay a teenager $11.00 an hour instead of $5.50 an hour to flip burgers, the chances are much better the teen stays at that job rather than going to tech school or learning a trade or going to college.

You really need to think things through and educate yourself as to wll of the consequences of your liberal knee jerk reactions. We've been raising the friggin minimum wage for years and it doesn' decrease the number of poor because the prices just go up. Is it that hard for you to understand?

[poochee]

"Poor" contractors?

The minimum wage needs to be raised. I don't need the small business speech I've heard it many times. If you can't hack in a small business, get a job. Don't be cheap with your employees.

[Mulderator]

And here is another huge problem. Let's say you double the minimum wage. You do realize that we ship hundreds of billions of dollars of products for sale outside the US, right? And you futher realize that one of the big problems the US has faced in the last 20 to 30 years is an increasing trade deficit--i.e., we are buying more from outside the US and selling less. You must be able to comprehend that if we double the minumum wage, the product immeidately becomes more expensive and then the trade deficit become much bigger. What happens is instead of a job at $5.50 an hour there is no job at all because in order to be profitable, the company must move outside the US where the wages are lower or shut down--one or the other.

Is any of this sinking in?

[Mulderator]

Originally Posted by poochee

"Poor" contractors?

The minimum wage needs to be raised. I don't need the small business speech I've heard it many times. If you can't hack in a small business, get a job. Don't be cheap with your employees.

Again, you realize we deal in a global market, right? If England or Ireland or whatever can buy a widget from China for $5.00 and from America for $8.00, who do you think they will buy from?

[Mulderator]

Originally Posted by poochee

"Poor" contractors?

What does this mean? Most contractors are small business owners who do the work themselves. They bid based on their costs. If wages cost them $20 and hour instead of $15 an hour, then the cost of the job is increased--for everyone. The contractor doesn't make the extra profit. There are 5 other contractors bidding the job with the same costs. If Contractor "A" tries to take the profit from the lower wages, I guarantee you "B" or "C" or someone else will undercut the bid and get the job--that's the way it works. The only thing an extra $5.00 an hour does is make it more expensive for the homeowner to rebuild. So all you're doing is shifting extra money from the victims of New Orleans into the pockets of the workers and unions. If that's what you want to do, fine, but at least understand what you're doing. Don't just take the knee-jerk reaction that extra money for the workers means less money for the big rich contractor!

Why do you not understand that? Have you ever run a business?

[poochee]

Originally Posted by Mulder

And here is another huge problem. Let's say you double the minimum wage. You do realize that we ship hundreds of billions of dollars of products for sale outside the US, right? And you futher realize that one of the big problems the US has faced in the last 20 to 30 years is an increasing trade deficit--i.e., we are buying more from outside the US and selling less. You must be able to comprehend that if we double the minumum wage, the product immeidately becomes more expensive and then the trade deficit become much bigger. What happens is instead of a job at $5.50 an hour there is no job at all because in order to be profitable, the company must move outside the US where the wages are lower or shut down--one or the other.

Is any of this sinking in?

Double the minimum wage? I like your idea, but I don't think we have to go that far!

[izme]

Yahhh, everyone should make minimum wage and the upper crust should make the money, for cripes sakes...you are costing us money.....you have a roof over your head and a box of Mac N cheese in the cubbard, What more could you want? What more do you deserve? Just go take another minimum wage job and forget about having health care coverage, what is important is that you stay quiet about this and just live with it. The bottom line is that if we are even paying you minimum wage it's too much. The people fought for many years for massive worker's rights, now we are taking those away and making a minimum wage Nation, the way a Corporate America should be ran. Now you listen to these Republicans and take your pill every 3 hours and most of all..........BELIEVE that the Republican party is the best for Corporate...I mean America. Now all we need to do is get minimum wage down to a dollar an hour, man that would be a big party. Workers rights? baahahahahaha