Can we get a show of hands on where every member of Congress stands on this one? Fine, maybe we’ll use a slightly more 21st Century method of getting everyone on the record. Tell us where your representative and senators stand.
As we noted last night, and Rep. Dingell (D-MI) was shrewd enough to note right off the bat in his statement last night, President Bush’s first move after Katrina was to push through a Gulf Coast Wage Cut by executive order.
He really did. It hasn’t gotten a lot of discussion because it gets wrapped up in a bunch of jargon about the Davis-Bacon Act and ‘prevailing wages’ and a bunch of other mumbojumbo to the point where people think it’s about nutritional standards or breakfast foods. But that’s what it does. It allows those companies lining up for a piece of that $200 or $300 billion to cut the wages of the folks who are actually going to do the work.
What sense does that make? It amounts to wage gouging. Bad values. And actually pretty bad macro-economics since as much as these disaster-stricken regions need roads rebuilt they need people who can take their families out to dinner and buy new clothes. And lower wages for folks involved in the reconstruction — which is going to be a big slice of the population — has a ripple effect across the board in those regions.
Anyway, no arguments or hassles. I’m just curious to find out where everyone stands. There was a group of lawmakers who sent a letter to the president asking him to pull the trigger on the Gulf Coast wage cut. So we know where they stand (we’ll get that letter and let you know who). But how about everyone else. Ring up your representative or senator and ask. Or if you see their position on their website or in the paper, send us the link.
We’ll make a list and see where everyone stands on the president’s Gulf Coast Wage Cut.
