No Wage Hike — Ever
“Never before has a state government acted to reverse minimum wage increases already in place, and remove long-standing local self-governing rights in such a brazen fashion as in Iowa.”
If you needed more proof that Republicans don’t give a shit about the poor and less fortunate, then I don’t know what that proof might entail. Bill HF295, passed this Thursday, will ban cities and counties in Iowa from adopting or enforcing ordinances that raise the minimum hourly wage above the state and federal level of $7.25. The bill will also override recent wage increases. That’s right. Wages of those who have secured small wage hikes will be bumped back to $7.25.
Republicans claim that the legislation will curtail a multiplicity of rules regarding wages that could “hurt business”. Foremost in those considerations are the balance sheets of the Koch brothers and ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council [ALEC] who enjoys millions of dollars in graft from the Koch Brothers and other business like Exon Mobile, Coors, Philip Morris, and Castle Rock Foundation.
ALEC, a posse of corporate lobbyists and state legislators, directly influence nation-wide legislation that can have a dire effect on the American people. “Model” bills are passed and voted on with an express interest in advancing corporate practices that diminish worker’s rights and wages. Legislation — like annihilating wage parity — are presented as “public policy innovations” in state houses while never disclosing that corporations are the sole architects of the bills. And this is no fly-by-night organization. It would be safe to say that they’ve authored thousands of bills that have been enacted and wreaked havoc.
The recent, “Anti-Protesting Legislation” is another consequence of ALEC negotiations. States with a majority Republican rule are now drafting bills that will prohibit people from protesting against a tyrannical business or government. Senate bill 1142 in Arizona, for instance, attempts to redefine the federal construct of “conspiracy” by citing “anti-racketeering laws to seize assets of protesters.”
The criminalization of protests, and of the right to earn a better wage, are vestiges of fascism. We’ve arrived at a tipping point and the only way to protect our right to dissent is to be zealous. In a land where anyone can own a gun, I wouldn’t count on legislation to prohibit people from taking action once they’ve gathered force.
