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When hunting was the major source of food, hunters often used stalking horses as a means of sneaking up on their prey. They would synchronize their steps on the side of the horse away from their prey until they were close enough for a good shot. A stalking horse had a double benefit if the prey was an armed person. If the stalkers were discovered, it would be the horse that took the first shot. That's what blacks are to liberals and progressives in their efforts to transform America -- stalking horses. Let's look at it.I'll just list a few...

The Davis–Bacon Act (DBA) requires the government to pay construction wages that average 22 percent above market rates. This shields unions from competition on federal construction projects. It will also add $10.9 billion to the deficit in 2011. Given that the federal government is already running historic and unsustainable deficits, federal policy should not unnecessarily inflate the cost of federal construction projects. Congress should repeal the DBA. Unsustainable Spending . DBA Restrictions Increase Costs . Repeal the Davis–Bacon Act . America can no longer afford such special-interest handouts. If Congress is serious about reducing spending or lowering unemployment, it should...

CONTACT: Will Fine 202-393-1185 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 24, 2006 PLEDGE CALLS ON LAWMAKERS TO OPPOSE PRIVILEDGED WAGE SCALES FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS

Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez testifies on Capitol Hill yesterday before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on immigration reform. The Senate immigration bill would require that foreign construction laborers here under the guest-worker program be paid well above the minimum wage, even as American workers at the same work site could earn less. The bill "would guarantee wages to some foreign workers that could be higher than those paid to American workers at the same work site," says a policy paper released this week by the Senate's Republican Policy Committee. "This is unfair to U.S. workers, inappropriate, and unnecessary." The...

Illegal Workers Face Hardship in Big Easy Study finds illegal immigrants helping to rebuild New Orleans work in hazardous conditions NEW ORLEANS, Jun. 7, 2006By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI Associated Press Writer (AP) (AP) They are the backbone of post-Hurricane Katrina reconstruction: Workers who converge at dawn and wait to be picked up for 14-hour shifts of hauling debris, ripping out drywall and nailing walls. But because many are in the country illegally, immigrant workers rebuilding New Orleans are especially vulnerable to exploitation, according to a study released Tuesday by professors at Tulane University and the University of California at Berkeley. The illegal...

An Alabama employment agency that sent 70 laborers and construction workers to job sites in that state in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina says the men were sent home after just two weeks on the job by employers who told them "the Mexicans had arrived" and were willing to work for less. Linda Swope, who operates Complete Employment Services Inc. in Mobile, Ala., told The Washington Times last week that the workers -- whom she described as U.S. citizens, residents of Alabama and predominantly black -- had been "urgently requested" by contractors hired to rebuild and clear devastated areas of...

LAS CHEPAS, MEXICO – Mario Pérez, muscular and 16 years old, is a budding carpenter. Next to him is Samuel Sánchez, 32, an experienced roofer. Fed up with earning $4 a day in Mexico, they recently arrived at this tiny town on the Mexican-New Mexican border to start the two-day walk to the US. They talked about where they would go. "Probably Texas," said Mr. Sánchez. "What about New Orleans?" suggested Mr. Pérez In the wake of hurricane Katrina, recent moves by the US government may help would-be migrants like Sánchez and Pérez decide where to go. And decisions in...

Bush lifts wage rules for Katrina President signs executive order allowing contractors to pay below prevailing wage in affected areas. September 9, 2005: 11:43 AM EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush issued an executive order Thursday allowing federal contractors rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to pay below the prevailing wage. In a notice to Congress, Bush said the hurricane had caused "a national emergency" that permits him to take such action under the 1931 Davis-Bacon Act in ravaged areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi. The Davis-Bacon law requires federal contractors to pay workers at least the prevailing...