Faced with steadily declining membership, public and private labor unions alike are trying harder than ever to increase their political power. Americans deserve a right to work without being coerced into paying union dues against their wills. In order to preserve workplace freedom, we need to fight for secret ballots, Right to Work laws and paycheck protection for both public and private sector employees.
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Did you watch the Oscars last night? I only caught a few highlights, including Lady Gaga’s excellent tribute to The Sound of Music and Patricia Arquette’s ill-informed diatribe on women’s rights.
For the past year, the Supreme Court has been mulling the case of Harris v. Quinn, in which the state of Illinois was asserting its authority to collect union dues from non-union members working as home health care workers under a Medicare program. The state’s argument was that, since public sector labor unions negotiate contracts that benefit non-union members in terms of higher wages and better working conditions, it would be acceptable to expect these workers to pay union dues in return.
Big labor has always predicated its efforts on an appeal to “workers’ rights,” claiming to fight against exploitation and unfair treatment of employees by powerful corporations who care more about their bottom line than about the safety and well-being of workers.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has moved forward a bill to raise the national minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. Not only would raising the minimum wage not help lift anyone out of poverty, but it would put jobs further out of reach for those struggling to find work in the Obamacare economy. Raising the minimum wage is a cruel blow to the poor.
Obamacare has been a drag on the US economy so far based mostly on uncertainty and on businesses preparing to comply with its various rules, mandates, penaties, taxes, and fees. But a new report from the CBO shows that the law will trap people in unemployment and cause higher deficits, piling onto the national debt while lower tax receipts make it harder for the government to repay.
A recent report out of Mesa, Arizona demonstrates the inevitable negative consequences of supposed problem-solving government programs. Audrey Glemba, a 49-year-old triathlon runner, became a medically-retired police officer collecting worker's compensation for an injury she claimed prevented her from working. Taxpayers in her city are now paying her $508 a month, in addition to medical retirement benefits.
There’s quite a bit on Congress’s to do list entering this new year, especially with the 2014 midterms looming. Discontent with Democrats continues to grow as implementation of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, reveals the entire law to be something akin to a scheme hatched by Wile E. Coyote. With that, Democrats, with the help of some progressive Republicans worried about their own hides, have turned to a good populist ploy: the minimum wage.
By imposing a minimum amount of insurance coverage, Obamacare limits the freedom of Americans to make their own choices. The government "minimum essential benefits" is denying health insurance to many who would like to have it. That's always the case with government minimums: they hurt those on the bottom the most.
On today’s edition of the FreedomCast, United States Senator Mike Lee joins me to talk about his new tax reform proposal, setting a positive agenda for the GOP, and the nation, and how by simplifying the laws it’s easier for you to hold law makers accountable.
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