In a new editorial, the
New York Times is
calling on Bush to rescind his proclamation suspending the Davis-Bacon Act -- the law that requires federal contractors to pay prevailing wages. Bush's move hits the working people of the Gulf Coast where it hurts most when you've lost everything -- in the wallet -- while increasing the profits of friendly contractors.
By any standard of human decency, condemning many already poor and now bereft people to subpar wages - thus perpetuating their poverty - is unacceptable. It is also bad for the economy. Without the law, called the Davis-Bacon Act, contractors will be able to pay less, but they'll also get less, as lower wages invariably mean lower productivity.
The ostensible rationale for suspending the law is to reduce taxpayers' costs. Does Mr. Bush really believe it is the will of the American people to deny the prevailing wage to construction workers in New Orleans, Biloxi and other hard-hit areas? Besides, the proclamation doesn't require contractors to pass on the savings they will get by cutting wages from current low levels. Around New Orleans, the prevailing hourly wage for a truck driver working on a levee is $9.04; for an electrician, it's $14.30.
...
If Mr. Bush does not rescind his proclamation voluntarily, Congress should pass a law forcing him to do so.
And the Hartford Courant's Dan Haar gets in on the action:
The Bush administration, never satisfied to rest on its laurels, has found a way to shock and stun advocates for American workers who thought they'd seen it all.
In a highly televised and publicized stunt, President Bush on Thursday called for a "National Day of Prayer and Remembrance For Victims of Hurricane Katrina."
"Across our nation," Bush said solemnly, "so many selfless deeds reflect the promise of the Scripture: `For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in.' I encourage all Americans to respond with acts of kindness in the days ahead."
Fine. That passage was from the Book of Matthew. Hours later, after most news deadlines had passed, the President quietly invoked the Book of George to stab in the back thousands of poor Katrina victims.
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Bush's stated reason for suspending the prevailing wage law is to "cut red tape" and "relieve the burden from the backs of taxpayers" in this emergency. The "red tape" comes in the form of wage records that employers in federal contracts must keep - until now.
As for the burden on taxpayers, let's do some simple arithmetic. Suppose 100,000 workers each labor for 1,000 hours on these federal contracts - big numbers - and suppose each one earns $2 an hour less than he or she would have earned, thanks to Bush's order. That still amounts to a savings of only $200 million, a rounding error in the total cost of Katrina.
A rounding error for the taxpayers, but a precious $2,000 out of the pockets of working families struggling to rebuild their lives - in the precise counties where Bush invoked prayer to help working families.
And Lou Dobbs on Friday night had a word or two for Bush:
DOBBS: OK. It's more than that. Ron, let me ask you something. Both parties have sold out to corporate supremacists and corporate America. We have just seen the president use -- roll back Davis-Bacon so that the very people are going to rebuild the Gulf Coast are going -- will not be paid the prevailing wage.
BROWNSTEIN: These are not unsolvable problems. You know, Lou, in the 1990s we had the biggest reduction in poverty that we've had since the 1960s. I believe it was about eight million fewer people in poverty.
DOBBS: We didn't do it by rolling back Davis-Bacon, partner.
