Here's a little story that will wind up becoming a big deal when the rebuilding starts. Yesterday, Bush suspended the Davis-Bacon Act in the areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina. This means federal contractors won't be required to pay their workers the average local wage for the work they do.
The average wage for construction workers in New Orleans is/was already a paltry $9 an hour. I'm not sure how artificially depressing wages in the devastated regions is going to help people trying to rebuild their lives, but it'll definitely help the bottom lines of well-connected federal contractors like Halliburton.
Saturday, September 10, 2005
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4 comments:
I was actually wondering about the sense of that myself. Did you also notice the suspensions on air and environmental quality controls?
Maybe instead of lowering wages for the workers they could have a deal where they get materials at better cost, thus saving money? Limits on how much the managers get paid? Why is it always the poor folks who have to take it up the ass?
Arg.
I'm just waiting for a suspension of the Voting Rights Act of 1964, followed by the suspension of The Bill of Rights (except the 2nd Amendment, naturally), and, ultimately, the dismantling of the public school system. For the Katrina recovery efforts, of course.
Even the 2nd Amendment isn't holding up so well. From what I've read, authorities have been going door to door and confiscating registered firearms from New Orleans homeowners.
However, Blackwater USA's mercenaries are apparently being allowed to operate there.
I guess some folks have more right to bear arms than others.
I'm suprised the Emancipation Proclimation hasn't been repealed as well. Make those poor black people fix their tore-up city on their own!
Wow...that was bitter. I've been watching too much TV news lately and it's just been giving me hives.
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