Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is cosponsoring the legislation in the Senate, and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) will introduce companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
It won’t pass, but if Biden can put the blame of it failing on Republicans it could help win elections.
That’s something realistic he could do. For an unrealistic but satisfying option, he could pick the worst offender and make that company an example. Send every OSHA, EPA, and IRS agent they can get to swarm the company and bury them in fines and legal actions.
I don’t think they meant “use agencies as bully goons.”
More like, those agencies are usually left under-resourced and under-staffed, so many companies flagrantly violate safety and employment laws because it’s more profitable to just make more money and pay off an unlikely fine if they get caught.
So, if you focused all the existing attention of those agencies on the worst companies, they’d find tons of legitimate lawbreaking going on, and hopefully punish the crap out of said company.
But, you know how it is “You stole how many millions in employee wages?!?.. that’s $25,000 penalty for you, company. Naughty naughty!”
Exactly, even if they do get caught, the fines are so goddamn low it’s barely worth it. A warehouse in my city got caught using 11-year-olds in their labor force, including having them driving forklifts. Their penalty? The kids can’t work there anymore and the company that owned the warehouse got a $30k fine.
This would be a start.
https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-introduces-legislation-to-reinstate-the-wwii-windfall-profit-tax-to-combat-rising-inequality-inflation-and-corporate-profiteering/
Oh cool. When is that passing the Senate?
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is cosponsoring the legislation in the Senate, and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) will introduce companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
It won’t pass, but if Biden can put the blame of it failing on Republicans it could help win elections.
That’s something realistic he could do. For an unrealistic but satisfying option, he could pick the worst offender and make that company an example. Send every OSHA, EPA, and IRS agent they can get to swarm the company and bury them in fines and legal actions.
Using agencies as weapons like that outside of their intended purpose is… despotic.
I don’t know that it’s wise to take attention away from the Republicans own clusterfuck to place it on something the Dems can’t get done.
I’m with you in spirit; I just think there are more layers to this than we tend to give it credit for.
I don’t think they meant “use agencies as bully goons.”
More like, those agencies are usually left under-resourced and under-staffed, so many companies flagrantly violate safety and employment laws because it’s more profitable to just make more money and pay off an unlikely fine if they get caught.
So, if you focused all the existing attention of those agencies on the worst companies, they’d find tons of legitimate lawbreaking going on, and hopefully punish the crap out of said company.
But, you know how it is “You stole how many millions in employee wages?!?.. that’s $25,000 penalty for you, company. Naughty naughty!”
Exactly, even if they do get caught, the fines are so goddamn low it’s barely worth it. A warehouse in my city got caught using 11-year-olds in their labor force, including having them driving forklifts. Their penalty? The kids can’t work there anymore and the company that owned the warehouse got a $30k fine.
I shudder to think about the multiples of $30k in net-value generated by the labor of those children.
It still probably cost less to unethically hire them under the table and pay the 30k fine than it would to hire adults legitimately!
“Cost of doing business” at this point.
I thought child exploitation got the book thrown at you, in this country. Geeze.
It’s exactly what Republicans would do if they didn’t like a company. Playing nice with these people is what got us to this point.
Exactly. With apologies to Michelle Obama, “They go low, we go high!” does not work. It was never intended to work.
Democrats have a ton of sportsmanship trophies, and what do Republicans have? Well, they’ve got the SCOTUS, the House, and tons of State governments.
It’s despotic to direct agencies to perform the tasks they were specifically created to perform? I don’t think so.
It’s not something that Biden would realistically do or that I think should be done in this situation, but it is far from despotic.