SENATE BILL: Fair Labor Standards Act of 2013 (Redraft at Vote)

[President Tyrion]

The Unpaid Labor section would do numbers to get rid of a lot of our future high earning population, as unpaid internships are an especially good way for students to move on up in the world.

Those jobs don't just go away, though. You assume that having no unpaid internships would mean that companies would shrug their shoulders and hire no one, and I'm pretty sure that just wouldn't happen.

[President Tyrion]

The Unpaid Labor section would do numbers to get rid of a lot of our future high earning population, as unpaid internships are an especially good way for students to move on up in the world.

Those jobs don't just go away, though. You assume that having no unpaid internships would mean that companies would shrug their shoulders and hire no one, and I'm pretty sure that just wouldn't happen.

That assumption was not made. It would get rid of a lot of future high earners, because companies would want someone who had some qualifications if they were actually going to pay them, and as a result, those with less experience would be doing something that would be less applicable and, as a result, probably earning lower wages for a longer time. Obviously there would still be some that companies feel are more worth their time and money to get a look at, but a lot of college age people would not be getting that experience.

Well, again, those jobs don't cease to exist. Let's say unpaid internships are abolished. Companies with cash flow issues, naturally, wouldn't offer the same work for pay. Down the road, they look to hire as the new batch of job applicants arrives. They have a quota. They're going to take as many people as they were going to take before. The only difference, if any, is that they have to train employees for a little longer. Businesses incur a cost, sure, but there's not much job loss.

[President Tyrion]

It isn't ridiculous, it's the reality of what your "pro-labor" reforms would actually create.

My friends, as most of you would probably agree to, an unpaid internships is most certainly not slavery. An individual makes the personal decision to accept an unpaid internship for the educational experience and employment opportunities that it will open up. As I stated, companies do not "force" unpaid interns to do anything - they have a major say in their responsibilities and control how much and when they work.

There are compromises I would be willing to make if a majority of Senators agree, such as requiring that all unpaid internships count for college credit and requiring that businesses cover transportation costs. Stripping unpaid internships puts the student at an unfair advantage, especially lower-income students, as attaining internships and employment out of college will come down to who you know rather than what you've done. Passing this would be counteractive.

I hope my fellow Senators will engage in a serious discussion over the various sections of this legislation, rather than just throw out petty insults and dismissive statements. This piece of legislation will have great effects on our economy, both good and bad, and a real discussion is needed.

Although I find the allegory to slavery to be quite strong, I do think unpaid internships have no place in Atlasia. You make some good points. I think that businesses should cover transportation costs for unpaid interns (in the case that they continue to exist). In fact, if y'all don't think you have the votes for this bill in its entirety, let's not be like the US Government. Let's pass something of substance that both sides can agree upon. Having unpaid interns lawfully reimbursed for transportation is a good start, as is that prison reform bill.

I don't think interns really get much of a say in their responsibilities. They may have some say in the internship as a whole, but grunt work always tends to happen in cases like this.

College credit, to me, is an idea rife with issues. Adding to what TJ said, college credit is, first and foremost, an insurance measure. Companies that require college credit from interns do so because of liability issues. Basically, by earning college credit, an intern goes as a liability on the college's insurance rather than the company's. If the company isn't going to put you on their insurance, then it really follows that you shouldn't be working there in the first place. College credit just invites universities to open themselves up to liability, and will be a major governmental cost in the long run.

As for your statement that lower income students use unpaid internships to differentiate themselves, that is just not true. Lower income students can't even afford unpaid internships. Naturally, it's a problem that higher income people will have more connections, but that's not really relevant to the bill.

With that said, tmth, I think you're doing a great job working on this bill to make it workable so don't take my criticism of your positions as an affront; naturally, we differ in ideology, but we can both agree that you're doing what you think is best and working hard

[President Tyrion]

I was able to save up quite a bit of money by working at a grocery store during my junior and senior years of high school that I have been able to use to help pay for college, reducing the debt when I graduate. In the interest of students trying to reduce their college debt, I strongly oppose this amendment.

For what it's worth I intend on introducing a bill that will give all students a living stipend to compensate for any lost wages that will come as a result. My intent is to limit insofar as possible Atlasians' interaction with wage labor, and to that end I'll probably introduce an amendment later calling for mandatory retirement for those aged 65 and older.

I would recommend indexing that to life expectancy. We don't want life expectancy to hit 100 (as it surely will at some point) with the mandatory retirement age still at 65.

[President Tyrion]

Aye

[President Tyrion]

Aye

[President Tyrion]

The basic income guarantee does change the manner by which we should approach unpaid internships. I oppose them because they generally can't go to poorer people, since they couldn't afford not to be paid. The BIG changes that somewhat. I would support a redraft.

[President Tyrion]

Yeah we have a deficit now that is around $150 Billion.

Aha. Ok, I'll make sure to keep that in mind.

I support the redraft, for the record.

[President Tyrion]

Er, I'm pretty sure we can't assume Yankee meant the vote was open.

I would vote Aye for the record.

[President Tyrion]

Aye