Ellington

New York Times editorial today:

On Thursday, President Bush issued a proclamation suspending the law that requires employers to pay the locally prevailing wage to construction workers on federally financed projects. The suspension applies to parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. By any standard of human decency, condemning many already poor and now bereft people to subpar wages - thus perpetuating their poverty - is unacceptable. It is also bad for the economy. Without the law, called the Davis-Bacon Act, contractors will be able to pay less, but they'll also get less, as lower wages invariably mean lower productivity.

The ostensible rationale for suspending the law is to reduce taxpayers' costs. Does Mr. Bush really believe it is the will of the American people to deny the prevailing wage to construction workers in New Orleans, Biloxi and other hard-hit areas? Besides, the proclamation doesn't require contractors to pass on the savings they will get by cutting wages from current low levels. Around New Orleans, the prevailing hourly wage for a truck driver working on a levee is $9.04; for an electrician, it's $14.30.

Previous Comments

ID

134379

Comment

Going into Iraq "on the cheap", now Rebuilding the Gulf Coast on the cheap?? Doesn't ANYONE have a clue that "on the cheap" means higher long-term repair and redesign costs???? Somebody pleas enroll this administration into Six Sigma seminars!!!! Motorola and others have shown that high quality is cheaper in the long run! The same certainly goes for rebuilding the coast and human lives. Also, could paying people time-and-a-half be a way of reducing the poverty rate? Which in turn will raise disposable income...which in turn will enable more business stability...which in turn will create jobs that will get at least some people out of poverty? Anybody get the picture? Note: The name Six Sigma comes from a statistical term meaning 1 in a Million, as in a 1 out of 1 Million chance of an error.

Author

Philip

Date

2005-09-10T16:59:28-06:00