Posted on 10/12/2004 11:04:10 PM PDT by Bronc1
Background
In 1931 the Davis-Bacon Act was adopted to create a "prevailing wage," usually the union rate, for any construction contract over $2,000 funded in whole or in part by the federal government. The benefits of the "prevailing wage," however, go to a very few at the expense of taxpayers and the Act is a prime example of unfunded mandates and government waste.
Davis-Bacon inflates the cost of federally funded construction projects by as much as 15%, discourages economic growth, and raises federal spending. In fact, Davis-Bacon Act wages cost taxpayers over $1 billion annually, in addition to the $100 million in government administrative costs per year.
Davis-Bacon also creates unnecessary regulatory paperwork costing construction companies $190 million annually. In addition, it forces state and local governments to pick up the cost of artificially high union-scale wages for construction projects in which any federal money is involved.
U.S. Chamber Position
Repeal of the Davis-Bacon Act will spur local economic growth by making it easier for state and local governments to fund federally subsidized projects such as school construction and improvements to the transportation infrastructure.
Davis-Bacon repeal also would create an estimated 31,000 new construction jobs and remove a barrier that keeps many smaller and minority owned construction firms from bidding on federally funded construction projects.
Bronc you make so much sense that I think the unions are going to put out a hit on you.
Get yourself a bodyguard!
Our government at work.
Repeal it and we'll find that capitalism still works.
It would be nice to get this in easy to understand language -
As it is - I'd be against it - "minority" - isn't enough being done already to please a "group" - and this looks like another part of old America coming under attack - though I do realize some changes are for the good - I just don't know if this one would work out that way considering the way things are in this nation today -
just a view - even with not completely understanding
How does repealing high paying construction jobs create "more high paying construction jobs?
The same way repealing high taxes on any item encourages more consumption of those items.
It's idiocy to think that eliminating the prevailing wage law would create more prevailing wage paying jobs...Which is what the title implies
Too bad well respected economists like Walter E Williams disagree with you.
There's no logic in any contractor paying "a higher than average wage" for labor on a school than for home construction.
How many prevailing wage jobs has he done?
dunno. Why don't you ask him yourself?
Artificially inflating a price by government decree results in reduced demand for the item in question. That's why they jack up taxes on cigarrettes - to keep people from smoking. That's why the libs want to tax gas more - to make them drive less and save 'gaia'.
If the government decrees that X job must pay $20 an hour, and the market will only bear $17.50 an hour, then companies will try to get more work done with fewer employees. Let the market decide itself, and on a large enough job, you could have several more people employed at the $17.50 wage.
The government has no business mandating either a minimum or maximum wage. It is a voluntary contract between the provider of the service (the employee) and the purchaser of the service (the employer).
Minimum wages and 'living' wages only serve to raise the bar of entry to new workers in a field. It keeps them from getting experience to move themselves up the ladder.
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