Progressives: 100 Years of Saving the Poor...From Prosperity

FDR, LBJ, Barack Obama; The New Deal, The Great Society, Hope and Change. For most of the past hundred years, Progressives have been the self appointed saviors of the poor, the forgotten man, the working class...the 99%. Labor laws are, perhaps, their proudest achievement. In their minds, they've assured all Americans "fair" working wages and conditions. All they ask in return, is loyalty at the voting booth and the surrender of some liberties. For truly poor people, the only property they truly own, and the only wealth they possess are in the form of their labor. These people's only means of survival is to sell their labor. Prior to progressive wage controls, they were free to sell it to the highest bidder or to sell it at a lower price in order to sell more of it or to acquire other assets, such as education and experience. Groups that had a harder time finding work, such as minorities, women, and the very young, had the option of selling their labor at a lower price in order to find work. People in low paying jobs had the option of working more hours to earn extra money. Mandatory forty hour work weeks and overtime wage laws took that option away. I work in construction, where we employ 300-400 craftsmen and laborers, depending on our workload. Most times, our employees could have the option of working twenty to thirty additional hours weekly, but the price we're being paid for the work doesn't support overtime wages. These workers are denied the option of increasing their income by as much as 25-60% and they have no input in the decision. To progressives, this is called "looking out for the poor". The lowest income earners live check to check, scraping by just to survive. They make choices between buying food, paying the rent, or buying their kids a new pair of shoes. But working the weekend to pick up an extra $200 is off the table. When I was younger, a lot of construction workers were classified as independent contractors, and not subject employee labor laws. I took every opportunity I was offered to work more hours at my normal rate of pay because I always needed the money. Some of that still goes on, but the government has cracked down on employers to protect employees...from having a chance to earn more money. To those who haven't been there, I'm not sure you can grasp what an extra $100 or $200 means to someone whose regular pay is $400. It can mean the difference between living in an apartment and a house, or having 3 or 4 bedrooms instead of 1 or 2. It can allow a mom more time with the kids by working less or not at all. It can be the difference between your kids wearing new clothes as opposed to second hand. Government does NOT have the right, or the constitutional authority, to deny working people that choice! Last summer, 48.8% of Americans 16-24 years old were employed. That's the lowest percentage since the Department of Labor started keeping track of it in 1948. Young people don't have any skills or experience. They used to have the chance to gain those things by agreeing to sell their labor at lower prices. Minimum wage laws made that illegal. There have been similar effects on some minorities. It must be nice to be a progressive and pat yourself on the back for playing God with people's lives, while never having to worry about suffering the consequences.