Ending Overtime Abuse

So the Obama administration finally did something to end the abuse of salaried workers. The President finally changed the rules on overtime so that salaried workers can earn more for the time that they put in on the job.

Overtime for hourly workers means that after forty hours they earn time and a half. When I worked in the restaurant industry years ago, this overtime was the difference in making ends meet or losing my life to working two jobs.

Now salaried people can see their wages go up to almost $50,000 if they work overtime.

And that is a good thing because I know many salaried people that are working 50 to 60 hours a week and getting nothing for it. Supposedly they make it up in the weeks that they work under 40 hours, but few of them actually work under 40 hours.

Back in the late 1980s my one manager heard us complaining about how poorly we were paid compared to management and the higher ups in the corporation. So he kept track of his hours one week, and it was a very busy week. For the $3.85 I made per hour of work, he made $2.65 an hour. (And the wait staff made even less than him. Tips don't always get tehm up to minimum wage.)

And in all things that the capitalist presidents do, there has to be a down side to it.

After all – look at the “Affordable Care Act” that was supposed to help end the health insurance crisis in this country. What did the Obama Administration do? Basically forced people to buy insurance from private health care corporations. It increased their profits and used our tax dollars to do it. This was good for us because? And there are still millions without health insurance that need it. And communities without access to hospitals and health clinics. A single payer, Medicare-for-all system funded by a revision in the Social Security tax code would have solved the insurance aspect of that problem better.

So, I am waiting to see who gets screwed over by the change in overtime rules. Obama serves the capitalists well when he does something. I'm waiting for someone to pull the curtain back.

I know that it changes nothing for teachers. That was to be expected.

One change that I did notice was in an article in the Business section of the Buffalo News. In order to avoid paying overtime, some businesses are going to be hiring more workers. So the workers that are on salary might not even be able to benefit financially from this change.

Then again, hiring more workers means that unemployment will go down. This will give workers some leverage against the capitalist owners of businesses because the workers will tend to want to go where they are paid better and receive better benefits. So there might be some increase in these areas.

But I'm still waiting for the curtain to be pulled back. There is always something that benefits the capitalist class. It just has not been found yet.

So let us cheer and celebrate the fact that salaried workers can now at least receive overtime wages. No more being pushed for hours beyond 40 for nothing extra in their pockets.

Health Care

It never fails.

Our school gets a book fair and I get the flu.

I swear someone I the warehouse has it in for me.

Either that or they are sick and the company that they work with does not offer sick days.

And they might offer health insurance.

But over 2000 doctors signed a statement recently advocating for a single payer health care system.

The Affordable Care Act isn't covering everyone and the costs are set to rise.

And drug costs are not exactly cheap.

But the US is one of 2 nations that allow for direct to consumer advertising of medications. And I have read in numerous places where 60% of the cost of a drug is tied up in advertising costs. Not Research and Development but advertising to average every day people. Most of them don't need the drugs but they pester the doctor until he/she gives in.

At my most recent physical the doctor wrote me a prescription for a statin drug even though I didn't need it. It was called “preventive medication for when I would need it.”

They had no idea when that would be. And I'm pretty much a vegetarian and don't have high cholesterol of any kind.

Then again, the office has a manager that oversees day to day business and evidently has a quota for prescriptions. I recycled the papers that they gave me and never picked up the prescription.

So, how do we keep people healthy?

Single payer for all.

Eliminate direct to consumer advertising.

And plenty of sleep and liquids.

And avoid doctor offices with quotas.

Republicans Push Capitalist Healthcare

I had to laugh at this article in Bloomberg. Actually it was one of those filler blurbs that they put in the side of the News to fill out the empty space. If you weren't looking for it, you missed it.

And Bloomberg was telling (a part of) the truth for once. (In a long time.)

“Republican hopefuls pitch Obamacare ideas.” Just call O-care “The Affordable Care Act” and it's closer to the truth.

Rubio wants those with pre-existing conditions to be able to get affordable coverage instead of being gouged.

Cruz wants to de-link insurance coverage from employment. You get unemployed, you still have insurance and you can take it with you to your (hopeful) next job.

Bush (III) wants to use financial incentive programs to encourage wellness. (How about making healthy food more affordable and junk food more expensive? Just a thought.)

Kasich wants to use episode based payments to hold down costs and let doctors and hospitals share savings from reduced spending.

All of these exist in the Affordable care act.

All of what they are proposing isn't anything new – just the fact that the ACA is forcing people to buy insurance from private corporations is.

All of this is covered under Medicare and other single-payer programs.

Bloomberg won't tell us this part because their profitability is dependent upon private insurance companies buying over-priced advertising in their corporate propaganda rag sheet.

So, let's get a discussion of single payer going.

Properly done it saves money and lives.

We have the money – just cut the wasteful spending at the Pentagon, CIA, and NSA.

And we know it works – because it's the health plan that Congress gets.

So why isn't available to the rest of us?

Bloomberg probably isn't going to go into that.