Essey on the US goverment.

[Albareth]

http://www.rationalrevolution.net/contents.htm

 

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Please read ALL of that before replying... a friend of mine wrote it a few months ago in a few bits... he's 100% American and has lived there all his life so no claiming him assaulting US on purpose.. and he's got a phd in History so no claiming he's ignorant about what he's saying please.

 

Beside that, I'd just like your opinions, both just for the sake of debating it as well as him looking for ANY error anyone can locate in his arguments, factual errors or errors of deduction... if any such error is noted and you can provide links to respectable sources to back it up please send that too, this document is fool-proof by now he believes but who knows...

 

Opinions please, I know it's long... try to keep from flaming it if you can and give factual reasons why you think it's wrong. B)

[NickJones]

Nice to see someone besides me has heard of General Butler, one of my few true heroes of the Twentieth Century. If we had more generals like him, we wouldn't have 250 (and counting) dead American soldiers.

 

Recent news: the Bush administration is also in the process of dismantling the Clean Air act, and working to eliminate the obligation of employers to pay time-and-a-half for overtime.

 

THE GRINCH THAT STOLE LABOR DAY

by Greg Palast

 

Friday, 29 August, 2003

 

In celebration of the working person's holiday, Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao has announced the Bush Administration's plan to end the 60-year-old law which requires employers to pay time-and-a-half for overtime.

 

I'm sure you already knew that -- if you happened to have run across page 15,576 of the Federal Register.

 

According to the Register, where the Bush Administration likes to place it's little gifts to major campaign donors, 2.7 million workers will lose their overtime pay -- for a "benefit" of $1.53 billion. I put "benefit" in quotes because, in the official cost-benefit analysis issued by Bush's Labor Department, the amount employers will now be able to slice out of workers' pockets is tallied on the plus side of the rules change.

 

Nevertheless, workers getting their pay snipped shouldn't complain, because they will all be receiving promotions. These employees will be re-classified as managers exempt from the law. The change is promoted by the National Council of Chain Restaurants. You've met these 'managers' - they're the ones in the beanies and aprons whose management decisions are, "Hold the lettuce on that."

 

My favorite of Chao's little amendments would re-classify as "exempt professionals" anyone who learned their skill in the military. In other words, thousands of veterans will now lose overtime pay. I just can't understand why Bush didn't announce that one when he landed on the aircraft carrier.

 

CHOICE NUMBER FOUR: BREAK THE LAW

Now I should say that, according to Chao's press office, the changes will actually extend overtime benefits to 1.3 million burger flippin' managers. How does that square with the billion dollar "benefit" to business owners? Simple: The Chao hounds at the Labor Department suggest that employers CUT WAGES so that, with the new "overtime" pay, the employees won't actually take home a dime more.

 

I can hear the moaners and bleeding hearts saying, this sounds like the Labor Department is telling Big Business how to evade the law. Yep, that's what the Department is doing. Right there on page 15,576 of the Federal Register it says,

 

"Affected employers would have four choices concerning potential payroll costs: . (4) converting salaried employees' basis of pay to an hourly rate that result in virtually no changes to the total compensation paid those workers."

 

And in case some employer is dense as a president and doesn't get the hint, Madame Chao repeats, ".The fourth choice above results in virtually no (or only a minimal) increase in labor costs."

 

For decades, the courts have thrown the book at cheapskate bosses who chisel workers out of legal overtime by cutting base pay this way . but now they'll have a new defense: Bush made me do it.

 

But then, there won't be any cases against employers, because Chao is the labor cop that is supposed to stop paycheck theft. She's well qualified for the job. Her resume reads, "Married to Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky." I called her press office to ask if she qualifies for overtime, but they'd left the office early.

 

Greg Palast Website