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posted by on Monday May 22 2017, @03:39PM   Printer-friendly
from the for-gewg dept.

For the past four decades, the majority of American workers have been shortchanged by economic policymaking that has suppressed the growth of hourly wages and prevented greater improvements in living standards. Achieving a secure, middle-class lifestyle has become increasingly difficult as hourly pay for most workers has either stagnated or declined. For millions of the country's lowest-paid workers, financial security is even more fleeting because of unscrupulous employers stealing a portion of their paychecks.

Wage theft, the practice of employers failing to pay workers the full wages to which they are legally entitled, is a widespread and deep-rooted problem that directly harms millions of U.S. workers each year. Employers refusing to pay promised wages, paying less than legally mandated minimums, failing to pay for all hours worked, or not paying overtime premiums deprives working people of billions of dollars annually. It also leaves hundreds of thousands of affected workers and their families in poverty. Wage theft does not just harm the workers and families who directly suffer exploitation; it also weakens the bargaining power of workers more broadly by putting downward pressure on hourly wages in affected industries and occupations. For many low-income families who suffer wage theft, the resulting loss of income forces them to rely more heavily on public assistance programs, unduly straining safety net programs and hamstringing efforts to reduce poverty.

-- submitted from IRC


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 22 2017, @08:00PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 22 2017, @08:00PM (#513713)

    If not even the city has been able to build Internet infrastructure robustly, then why in the world would anyone be willing to let governments squander resources in the sticks?

    We can agree on one thing: Governments fuck everything up.

  • (Score: 4, Funny) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Tuesday May 23 2017, @12:01AM (2 children)

    by fido_dogstoyevsky (131) <{axehandle} {at} {gmail.com}> on Tuesday May 23 2017, @12:01AM (#513851)

    We can agree on one thing: Governments fuck everything up nearly as much as private companies do.

    Ftfy.

    --
    It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 23 2017, @11:24AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 23 2017, @11:24AM (#514134)

      However, you cannot stop paying a government for its rotten services.

      Indeed, if you try to stop paying a government, you'll probably be beaten up by thugs and then thrown into a cage.

      • (Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Wednesday May 24 2017, @01:26AM

        by fido_dogstoyevsky (131) <{axehandle} {at} {gmail.com}> on Wednesday May 24 2017, @01:26AM (#514614)

        However, you cannot stop paying a government for its rotten services.

        Indeed, if you try to stop paying a government, you'll probably be beaten up by thugs and then thrown into a cage.

        Substitute "protected privately owned monopoly, such as water supply" for "government" and your argument is equally valid.

        --
        It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.