Posts tagged Beacon Hill Institute
Counterpoint: Davis-Bacon Requires Pork Spending, Costs Taxpayers Billions
October 23, 2023 // The Davis-Bacon Act was passed in 1931 and was initially meant to counter a Depression-era practice of literally busing in workers from a lower-paying region so employers didn’t have to hire local workers who would not work for the wages being offered. This practice benefitted many workers, frequently African-Americans, who lived in poor regions with little work. Busing in unskilled labor is rarely a factor with the law, as most federal projects involve skilled labor. The present-day purpose behind the Davis-Bacon Act is to boost unions. The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division is the entity that surveys businesses and determines the prevailing wage for these types of projects. This wage mirrors what companies with collective bargaining contracts — union wages — pay their workers. Unions that drive up their members’ wages are thus protected from the economic consequences of doing that if their business involves federal contracts because non-unionized businesses will have to pay the same wages and, therefore lose any wage-price advantage. The AFL-CIO is one of the main boosters of the law, unsurprisingly.
Opinion: Biden Labor Nominee Julie Su is a Threat to Independent Contractors and Freelancers Nationwide
March 2, 2023 // Su, who is currently serving as Deputy Labor Secretary, has a demonstrated record of mismanagement of taxpayer resources and will wage war on the nearly 60 million Americans that engage in freelance work. Before DOL, Su worked as California Labor Secretary. Under Su’s scandal-tarred watch, California’s unemployment system paid out over $11 billion in fraudulent claims, totaling 10 percent of all benefits paid. Estimates show that a further $19 billion in claims were improperly distributed. An audit spurred by Su’s failed leadership showed that her work was a “high-risk issue” and “inefficient.” Su will also raise your taxes. Su will likely push a national version (such as the PRO Act) of AB5 if confirmed, breaking Biden’s pledge not to raise taxes on Americans making less than $400,000 per year.
Teachers Unions Spent $22 Million Backing Massachusetts ‘Millionaire’s Tax’
November 14, 2022 // "The MTA has coughed up $13.3 million for the so-called Fair Share Amendment, while its national counterpart, NEA, has doled out $7.2 million," the Globe reports. "Which begs the question: What do the teachers want?" The constitutional amendment is an attempt to undermine the state's flat income tax system. Chris LaBella,
Opinion: Biden must reverse course and protect independent contractors
June 17, 2022 // With this new rulemaking period, the administration has a chance to turn the page on its stridently anti-independent contractor stance. Any new rules should protect the right of Americans to make a living outside of a traditional employment relationship. Under current law, there are two ways an individual can have a relationship with someone that is paying you. The first is an employee, where a person that is paying the individual has total control over how, when, and where the work is being done.
Biden Department of Labor Must Protect Independent Contractors in New Rulemaking
June 7, 2022 // Independent contractors should be concerned with the Biden Administration’s hostile posture towards freelance work. The administration has worked on withdrawing the Trump Independent Contractor Rule since the day of President Biden’s inauguration. The Trump Independent Contractor Rule created an “economic reality” test to determine whether the individual in question works for themselves or their employer. The test looks at two “core factors” to determine the individual’s status: 1) “the nature and degree of control that the individual has over the work itself” and 2) “the opportunity for profit or loss based on the individual’s investment or initiative.” This test clarified the definition of an independent contractor Coalition for Workforce Innovation v. Walsh
Biden’s PRO Act is a covert tax hike on 7.7 million Americans
April 28, 2022 // The PRO Act has been one of Biden’s top priorities despite the fact that it has yet to move in the Senate. The PRO Act’s ABC test is a clear tax hike on millions of Americans, 96 percent of whom make less than $400,000 per year. If Biden is serious about upholding his tax pledge, a central part of his presidential campaign, he should kick the PRO Act and the ABC test to the curb.