The Set It and Leave it Alone Minimum Wage Act of 2015 (Signed)

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

AYE

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

I think interns need to be compensated for their efforts, considering the increased expectations that students will have a number of such internships under their belt means long periods of time in the year where students are expected to work for nothing.

It's wrong.

However, I do think we can look at this differently ... I'll support the amendment, but I will propose my own to provide some flexibility to employers and interns, without ignoring that fundamental point that labor should be compensated.

AYE

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

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[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Well, many companies may run to different budget processes and structures and reporting standards, so it's possible that companies may not have budgeted for this measure, but still need and want interns and vice-versa. Many projects that I deal with in my private life speak of in-kind support. So offering something of a monetary value but not cash.

So, long story short it enables organisations to use different internal finance streams.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Well, I'm tempted to vote nay myself, Yankee.

There is an interesting balance to consider. Internships are meant to be temporary positions that provide students or other young people with valuable experience. While the intern certainly offers a service to the company or office they're working in, in a way, that office is also offering a valuable service to the intern. How many intern positions would cease to exist if this bill came into law? How many students would miss out on valuable "work" experience that could help them later in life? Students who decide to become unpaid interns know what they're getting into.

On the other hand, though, there's only a certain type of student who can afford to work as an unpaid intern, so there's definitely a privilege gap here. Is the solution to punish the people with privilege, or to find a way to help students with less privilege still find a way to make use of these internships?

I'm torn.

Well - companies also need interns. They wouldn't be taking them on unless there's some benefit for them in it.

In relation to Senator Hagrid - I'd prefer that a students capacity to survive not be brought into the issue. We shouldn't punish privilege any more than we should force students without the capacity to support themselves to work for nothing, while the companies get free labour.

Not that I'm advocating for this, since practical experience is important, maybe with fewer internships around, the expectations of the market on this front would be reduced.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Volunteerism is not slavery.

Considering the value placed on the internships in the employment market ... It's getting harder to legitimately call them volunteer posts.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Like I've said, I fully support requiring private employers (like law firms) to pay the full minimum wage (in fact I've never heard of a law firm that does not compensate their student employees generously). But I know from experience that many of the unpaid internships I and friends had during college, where we were working for cash-strapped government offices or non-profit organizations, would simply not have existed at all if they had been required to pay us $15 an hour.

You really raise a good point Lief.

Hmmm, why not paying still paying them at the minimum wage ($15/hour), but the federal government subsidizes a part of it: like 33%???

Uh, that has disaster written all over it. This is a difficult balance to strike. Either, we risk reducing the numbers of internships, or we create a market for them, if the Govt is co-funding them.

Another option could be to provide a tax-credit for specific sectors, such as not for profits.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

I'm arguing that a sector-specific credit be created for not-for-profits and the community sector - not a blanket tax credit for all organisations/businesses ... now THAT is something that could be taken advantage of very quickly.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

AYE

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

My apologies for missing this vote - I'm fully back on deck