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California: What Could Go Wrong?
Obamacare putting pressure on your hiring decisions? Don’t worry, California has a solution. From United Liberty:
As the first state to establish an ObamaCare exchange, California is far too invested both monetarily and ideologically in government-driven healthcare to back down now. So its response to these concerns [about Obamacare cutting down full-time employment] is decidedly irrational: California is doubling down on ObamaCare. It’s simple, actually. The California legislature is currently advancing a bill that would make it unlawful for employers to reduce workers’ hours for the purpose of avoiding ObamaCare’s employer mandate.
Here’s an excerpt of the bill’s text:
This bill would make it unlawful for a large employer to, among other things…reduce an employee’s hours or work…if the purpose is to avoid the imposition of the penalty. A violation of those provisions would result in a penalty of 200% of the penalty amount the employer would have paid for the applicable period of time.
In other words, California — which had 9.4 percent unemployment in March, tied for third-worst in the nation with Mississippi — would define progress as moving from a system in which employers have an incentive to cut workers’ hours to one where they have an even greater incentive to not hire them in the first place.
But hey, the weather’s still great, so, really, who’s going to mind?
Published in General
Well I’ll be. Next thing you know the state might try to pass a law preventing an employer from relocating and leaving the state in search of a better business climate. For that matter, why not go ahead and do the equivalent of nationalizing all industries within the state. Yeah, that’ll work.
Time to move to the South, Troy, before California tells you that you’re not allowed to leave.
In other news, the legislature repealed the law of gravity. Henceforth, a fine will be levied any time an object falls to earth.
California: “Consequences, Shmonsequences — we want to give ourselves another pat on the back!”
Fear not. Silicon Valley will find automated solutions to replace all of those pesky workers (except for the undocumented Democrats who work off the books for rich progressives).
Time to move to the South, Troy, before California tells you that you’re not allowed to leave. ·21 minutes ago
Y’know, for all my criticisms of Ayn Rand, it’s amazing how prescient she was in certain things.
Directive 10-289?
World, stand still so I can fix you, OK?
Hayak warned about how gov’t would get more and more oppressive as it tries to respond to the consequences of its rules and regulations. Any employer in CA would shut their mouths and immediately do the necessary adjustments to avoid ObamaCare. How would CA then try to prove intent? That would require more intrusion and this “Whack a Mole” keeps going and going.
Another of the accumulating pile of reasons that my wife and I will be out of here next year.
I hope they pass it–Nevada needs more manufacturing jobs.
I always thought Atlas Shrugged was a cautionary tale. I didn’t realize it was just a news story that was published a little early.
In the name of the general welfare, to protect the people’s security, to achieve full equality and total stability, it is decreed for the duration of the national emergency that;
Point One. All workers, wage earners and employees of any kind whatsoever shall henceforth be attached to their jobs and shall not leave nor be dismissed nor change employment, under penalty of a term in jail. The penalty shall be determined by the Unification Board, such Board to be appointed by the Bureau of Economic Planning and National Resources. All persons reaching the age of twenty-one shall report to the Unification Board, which shall assign them to where, in its opinion, their services will best serve the interests of the nation.
Point Two. All industrial, commercial, manufacturing and business establishments of any nature whatsoever shall henceforth remain in operation, and the owners of such establishments shall not quit nor leave nor retire, nor close, sell or transfer their business, under penalty of the nationalization of their establishment and of any and all of their property…..
Point Four. No new devices, inventions, products, or goods of any nature whatsoever, not now on the market, shall be produced, invented, manufactured or sold after the date of this directive. The Office of Patents and Copyrights is hereby suspended
Point Five. Every establishment, concern, corporation or person engaged in production of any nature whatsoever shall henceforth produce the same amount of goods per year as it, they or he produced during the Basic Year, no more and no less. The year to be known as the Basic Year is to be the year ending on the date of this directive. Over or under production shall be fined, fines to be determined by the Unification Board.
Point Six. Every person of any age, sex, class or income, shall henceforth spend same amount of money on the purchase of goods per year as spent during the Basic Year, no more and no less. Over or under purchasing shall be fined, such fines to be determined by the Unification Board.
Point Seven. All wages, prices, salaries, dividends, profits, interest rates and forms of income of any nature whatsoever, shall be frozen at their present figures, as of the date of this directive.
Point Eight. All cases arising from and rules not specifically provided for in this directive, shall be settled and determined by the Unification Board, whose decisions will be final.
Startin to look like time to buy land in Colorado?
Startin to look like time to buy land in Colorado? ·2 minutes ago
Is that from Soviet Russia? It eerily reminds me of serfdom.
Well, my employer, a large company, has two subsidiaries in California. They are the CHEAPEST company I have ever worked at (we are responsible for emptying our own trash, and vacuuming our desk area). I wonder what they are going to do. It will be interesting to watch.
Come on. We all know what this is, and it’s perfectly rational: this is nothing more than Baby Boomers locking in their insider rents. This happens in all social democracies; the old and middle-aged steal from the young, in a desperate attempt to maintain unsustainable wages and job security.
The blue model war on the young continues apace! All hail social democracy!
I’m seeing effects right here in Colorado. The fast food restaurants are hiring like crazy. All low level jobs are you going to be part time so they can avoid O-care. And they won’t necessarily reduce workers’ hours, they will fire the full timer and hire 3 part timers.
Obviously they can’t prove intent, unless business owners speak out.
The real purpose of this law is to silence business owners who dare to speak out against the law by informing the public of its effects.
I’d be curious to hear from our resident legal scholars on this. Is there a First Amendment case to be made here?
Startin to look like time to buy land in Colorado? ·2 minutes ago
Is that from Soviet Russia? It eerily reminds me of serfdom. ·3 hours ago
Yeah, it is from Soviet Russia, after a fashion. The inspiration fled Russia in 1926.
The “buy land in Colorado” comment must have seemed kind of incongruous to you? Hint: read the rest of the comments (especially mine).
Think how much revenue that law will generate!
Mark Lardas