SENATE BILL: Jobs Now Act of 2012 (Law'd)

[Governor Scott]

Why are they state-owned banks rather than regionally?
Is 5.1 a blank check from the federal government to the regions?  

"State" is suppose to be defined as a governing entity, not an individual state.  And yes, I do see how this would constitute as a blank check without any budgetary restrictions.  I will make those corrections now.

SECTION 5. REGIONAL PUBLIC BANKING SYSTEM

1.) All regions of the Republic of Atlasia are bestowed the option of creating individual public banks, the creation of which will be subsidized 35% per region by the federal government.

2.) Regional banks will be delegated with the duties
    To assist local banks with capital and liquidity requirements
    To provide loans & loan guarantees
    To provide assistance to borrowers in areas of job retention
    To provide assistance to borrowers in technology creation
    To provide assistance to small businesses and businesses of retail, and
    To participate in community service projects

3.) All revenues collected by each region shall be deposited in their respective banks.

4.) Funds that are deposited in a regional bank shall not transmit services to other regions or countries unless funds are prescribed to via a budget item of the region in control of the bank.

5.) 35% of a bank's earnings will be remitted to the region's Treasury.  If a treasury is not in place, the region will be responsible for establishing one.

6.) A regional bank will be responsible for keeping a record of all transactions and writing summaries which shall convey expectation and outlook of growth and inflation over each upcoming year.  The region's Treasury will be designated with the responsibility of annually checking the bank for organization of these records and efficiency in management.

7.) No individual, co-partnership, or corporation shall be permitted to subscribe for or to hold at any time more than $25,000 par value of stock in a regional bank.

[Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The amendment under consideration has been adopted.

Is that a new amendment you are offering there, Scott?

[Governor Scott]

The amendment under consideration has been adopted.

Is that a new amendment you are offering there, Scott?

Yes.

[Senator North Carolina Yankee]

SECTION 5. REGIONAL PUBLIC BANKING SYSTEM

1.) All regions of the Republic of Atlasia are bestowed the option of creating individual public banks, the creation of which will be subsidized 35% per region by the federal government.

2.) Regional banks will be delegated with the duties
    To assist local banks with capital and liquidity requirements
    To provide loans & loan guarantees
    To provide assistance to borrowers in areas of job retention
    To provide assistance to borrowers in technology creation
    To provide assistance to small businesses and businesses of retail, and
    To participate in community service projects

3.) All revenues collected by each region shall be deposited in their respective banks.

4.) Funds that are deposited in a regional bank shall not transmit services to other regions or countries unless funds are prescribed to via a budget item of the region in control of the bank.

5.) 35% of a bank's earnings will be remitted to the region's Treasury.  If a treasury is not in place, the region will be responsible for establishing one.

6.) A regional bank will be responsible for keeping a record of all transactions and writing summaries which shall convey expectation and outlook of growth and inflation over each upcoming year.  The region's Treasury will be designated with the responsibility of annually checking the bank for organization of these records and efficiency in management.

7.) No individual, co-partnership, or corporation shall be permitted to subscribe for or to hold at any time more than $25,000 par value of stock in a regional bank.

Sponsor Feedback: Origination
Status: Senators have 24 hours to object.

[Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Amendment passed.

[shua]

Working hours in Atlasia are already quite low due to policies such as The Productivity Equalization and Worker Employment Act.  What is considered overtime is much less than the average working hours in Germany (42 hours).  I'm trying to think how this bill will interact with that.  Will there be little effect because employers are already giving their employees so few hours?  I guess it could help a few people anyway.

[Governor Scott]

Working hours in Atlasia are already quite low due to policies such as The Productivity Equalization and Worker Employment Act.  What is considered overtime is much less than the average working hours in Germany (42 hours).  I'm trying to think how this bill will interact with that.  Will there be little effect because employers are already giving their employees so few hours?  I guess it could help a few people anyway.

I think so.  If there is a business that is considering lay-offs even with the low work hour requirement, the law could still help the employees of those companies keep their jobs and continue to make ends meet.

[Senator Napoleon]

The removal of Section 3 wouldn't really bother me.

[Governor Scott]

Unless there's a reason for why the section should be removed, I'd prefer that it stay in the bill.

[Senator Napoleon]

Unless there's a reason for why the section should be removed, I'd prefer that it stay in the bill.

Well, as Shua has said, normal work hours are reduced to 32 for larger companies starting in 2013. That's actually a 20% decrease from the 40 hour work week. It seems that the goal of Section 3 will already be accomplished, unless you are trying to take that even further.

[Governor Scott]

Unless there's a reason for why the section should be removed, I'd prefer that it stay in the bill.

Well, as Shua has said, normal work hours are reduced to 32 for larger companies starting in 2013. That's actually a 20% decrease from the 40 hour work week. It seems that the goal of Section 3 will already be accomplished, unless you are trying to take that even further.

Yes, but the goal of the section is to give employees in struggling businesses the ability to temporarily cut their work hours so that they can keep their jobs and continue to receive pay in the case that 32 hours is still too much for a company to afford.

[Senator Napoleon]

Unless there's a reason for why the section should be removed, I'd prefer that it stay in the bill.

Well, as Shua has said, normal work hours are reduced to 32 for larger companies starting in 2013. That's actually a 20% decrease from the 40 hour work week. It seems that the goal of Section 3 will already be accomplished, unless you are trying to take that even further.

Yes, but the goal of the section is to give employees in struggling businesses the ability to temporarily cut their work hours so that they can keep their jobs and continue to receive pay in the case that 32 hours is still too much for a company to afford.

Do you think we could find a way to make sure that employers don't use this as an opportunity to cut hours or salaries for their workers on the taxpayer's dime, if those companies aren't making cuts that are necessary? And if we pass this right now, that subsidy will go out but the hours cuts are going to come into effect anyway so its likely that employers can reduce their employees hours from 36 to 32 (or whatever) and the employee gets the subsidy but the work hours likely would have been reduced anyway to avoid overtime payments, making it a freebie.

[Governor Scott]

Fine, then.

Amendment:

SECTION 3. VOLUNTARY WORK HOUR AND PAY CUT COMPENSATION

1.) Employers of businesses with 20 employees or more will be allowed to give each worker the option of cutting their work hours by 10%, or their salaries by 10%.

2.) Employees who take either option will be subsidized 60% of lost income.

3.) This section shall be in effect for one year after passage.

EDIT: RESCINDED

[Senator Napoleon]

No, I'm not saying we have to take all of it out, but if you want to do that we should delay it or something. I think we can constructively eliminate the loophole.

[Governor Scott]

Okay, then I will rescind my previous amendment for now.  However, I'm not exactly sure how such a loophole could be eliminated.  How could we establish the criteria for a business that cannot afford to keep its employees and would need to make downsizes?

[Senator North Carolina Yankee]

A long winded set of restrictions, maybe?

[Governor Scott]

A long winded set of restrictions, maybe?

I'm not sure what those restrictions would be.  There'd have to be a certain criteria we could use to determine if a business is truly struggling and would therefore need to resort to layoffs.

[ModerateCoward]

Fine, then.

Amendment:

SECTION 3. VOLUNTARY WORK HOUR AND PAY CUT COMPENSATION

1.) Employers of businesses with 20 employees or more will be allowed to give each worker the option of cutting their work hours by 10%, or their salaries by 10%.

2.) Employees who take either option will be subsidized 60% of lost income.

3.) This section shall be in effect for one year after passage.

EDIT: RESCINDED

I object, I think this is a crucial part of the bill.

[Senator North Carolina Yankee]

A long winded set of restrictions, maybe?

I'm not sure what those restrictions would be.  There'd have to be a certain criteria we could use to determine if a business is truly struggling and would therefore need to resort to layoffs.

It is the only to do it though. My suggestion would be to just start writing down standards and think of as many continencies for abuse as possible so as to address them.

[Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Fine, then.

Amendment:

SECTION 3. VOLUNTARY WORK HOUR AND PAY CUT COMPENSATION

1.) Employers of businesses with 20 employees or more will be allowed to give each worker the option of cutting their work hours by 10%, or their salaries by 10%.

2.) Employees who take either option will be subsidized 60% of lost income.

3.) This section shall be in effect for one year after passage.

EDIT: RESCINDED

I object, I think this is a crucial part of the bill.

Are you objecting to thin air or something? That amendment was withdrawn, I think.

[Senator Napoleon]

A long winded set of restrictions, maybe?

I'm not sure what those restrictions would be.  There'd have to be a certain criteria we could use to determine if a business is truly struggling and would therefore need to resort to layoffs.

It is the only to do it though. My suggestion would be to just start writing down standards and think of as many continencies for abuse as possible so as to address them.

Can other Senators try contributing even a little bit? It's like the same three or four people doing everything, I don't imagine that can be very fun.

[ModerateCoward]

Fine, then.

Amendment:

SECTION 3. VOLUNTARY WORK HOUR AND PAY CUT COMPENSATION

1.) Employers of businesses with 20 employees or more will be allowed to give each worker the option of cutting their work hours by 10%, or their salaries by 10%.

2.) Employees who take either option will be subsidized 60% of lost income.

3.) This section shall be in effect for one year after passage.

EDIT: RESCINDED

I object, I think this is a crucial part of the bill.

Are you objecting to thin air or something? That amendment was withdrawn, I think.

Oh... well.

[Senator North Carolina Yankee]

A long winded set of restrictions, maybe?

I'm not sure what those restrictions would be.  There'd have to be a certain criteria we could use to determine if a business is truly struggling and would therefore need to resort to layoffs.

It is the only to do it though. My suggestion would be to just start writing down standards and think of as many continencies for abuse as possible so as to address them.

Can other Senators try contributing even a little bit? It's like the same three or four people doing everything, I don't imagine that can be very fun.

It is not, but I doubt very much that they give a damn, really.

The first thing I would do in your place is to think of the most obvious scenario in which a business man would try and cash in on this. If this is aimed at struggling businesses, perhaps you might want to link assistance to a certain set of indicators on the cash-flow or balance sheets. Of course then you run into the risk that they may manipulate data illegally or just do less well based on what the incentives look like.

[Governor Scott]

What if we create a ten-person board and prosecute any business that attempts to bribe its members?

[Senator Sbane]

I would just get rid of Section 3. We don't really need to go any lower than 32 hours per week. Even the 32 hours is unfair to workers who want to work more. I doubt companies will actually give anyone more than the 32 hours and will just hire more workers. I understand that is the point, but at some point it just becomes ridiculous. These people have to pay their bills.