SENATE BILL: Long-term Unemployment Relief Act (Law'd)

[President Tyrion]

This bill is going to make it easier for employers not to pay taxes while offering no relief to the employed. If anything, a better way to reduce unemployment is to zero out the payroll tax responsibilities of the lowest earners. This will put more money in their wallets which will be spent and force hiring in other sectors of the economy.

Of course, if we *really* want to be serious about lowering unemployment, we need to talk about moving to a 7 Hour Day, rather than just talking about giving tax relief to corporations.

Do you realize a 7-hour day will mean more people will take on second jobs? And if they don't, they'll have less money for having worked fewer hours.  Anyway, the long-term unemployed face unique challenges that persist even when the general unemployment rate drops.  This is a policy to address that problem.

Do you realize that the minimum wage is already set to adjust to $18 an hour by 2018? A 7 hour day combined with that, or combined with an even higher minimum wage, would make up for any losses that might accompany such a change. Plus, more people, not fewer, are going to be employed with people working less hours because there's going to need to be more workers hired to make up for less workers being able to work without hitting overtime pay. So any purported changes are going to be offset by wider employment, which will lift overall wages and reduce hours in the long run.

$18/hour???
Goodness Atlasia's policy-makers have bought into uneconomical utopianism even more than I realized.  All the more reason we need policies to help the long-term unemployed, since otherwise we can expect even more of them in the future.

Or you could see employment as it is
Instead of basing everything on models.
The rate in here would probably be low,
more so than the United States even,
if not for that god-damned* Western hellhole
The rate of which sticks out like a sore thumb.

I resent this, good sir.

[President Tyrion]

This bill is going to make it easier for employers not to pay taxes while offering no relief to the employed. If anything, a better way to reduce unemployment is to zero out the payroll tax responsibilities of the lowest earners. This will put more money in their wallets which will be spent and force hiring in other sectors of the economy.

Of course, if we *really* want to be serious about lowering unemployment, we need to talk about moving to a 7 Hour Day, rather than just talking about giving tax relief to corporations.

Do you realize a 7-hour day will mean more people will take on second jobs? And if they don't, they'll have less money for having worked fewer hours.  Anyway, the long-term unemployed face unique challenges that persist even when the general unemployment rate drops.  This is a policy to address that problem.

Do you realize that the minimum wage is already set to adjust to $18 an hour by 2018? A 7 hour day combined with that, or combined with an even higher minimum wage, would make up for any losses that might accompany such a change. Plus, more people, not fewer, are going to be employed with people working less hours because there's going to need to be more workers hired to make up for less workers being able to work without hitting overtime pay. So any purported changes are going to be offset by wider employment, which will lift overall wages and reduce hours in the long run.

$18/hour???
Goodness Atlasia's policy-makers have bought into uneconomical utopianism even more than I realized.  All the more reason we need policies to help the long-term unemployed, since otherwise we can expect even more of them in the future.

Or you could see employment as it is
Instead of basing everything on models.
The rate in here would probably be low,
more so than the United States even,
if not for that god-damned* Western hellhole
The rate of which sticks out like a sore thumb.

I resent this, good sir.

Well, don't just stand there, do something! Fix it!
If you resent my calling out of your
Brothers in arms in the Pacific region
Then work to change the situation there
And let your people earn back my respect.

I plan on continuing to do just that, good sir!

[President Tyrion]

It may not be on the wiki yet, but I certainly recall passing it.

[President Tyrion]

Nay

We can look at the FLSA again, but let's not repeal it wholesale.

[President Tyrion]

Nay

We can look at the FLSA again, but let's not repeal it wholesale.

[President Tyrion]

Aye

[President Tyrion]

NAY

[President Tyrion]

I don't like those current rates, to be honest; a $7.00 minimum wage in 2015 seems, well, low to me....

I'm going to unilaterally vote against this amendment, and along with my VP Cinci, we will offer our own rates and pray to Zeus that you all accept them.

I'm willing to work with you on this, but recognize that this is still an increase in the minimum wage for tipped employees by more than a dollar per year for the rest of the decade, not including inflation adjustments.

The inflation adjustments would only come into effect if inflation exceeds the step increase. At least, that's my reading of it.

[President Tyrion]

Aye

[President Tyrion]

Objection to the amendment that desires to cut Section 1 from the FLSA.

Here's the text of Section 1, by the way:

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[President Tyrion]

Nay

[President Tyrion]

Nay

(Sorry for popping in on my leave of absence, but some time freed up, so I thought I might quickly clear my backlog)

[President Tyrion]

NAY

[President Tyrion]

Can we extend the time limits for this?

Why do you ask, every Senator has voted?

There used to be extensions but I think we removed them a few months ago since they were never used that I recall in the past four or five years.

We removed them? Injunction powers are still on the wiki.

Of course, I'll trust you more than the wiki.