President Obama To Give Everyone Free Money Just For Working Real Hard

President Robin Hood has yet another evil scheme to redistribute the wealth, taking money from poor oppressed employers to give to their greedy fat cat workers, by redefining the traditional definition of "overtime work." From the White House basement, the dirty blogger in chief explained:  

Right now, too many Americans are working long days for less pay than they deserve. That's partly because we've failed to update overtime regulations for years -- and an exemption meant for highly paid, white collar employees now leaves out workers making as little as $23,660 a year -- no matter how many hours they work.

This week, I'll head to Wisconsin to discuss my plan to extend overtime protections to nearly 5 million workers in 2016, covering all salaried workers making up to about $50,400 next year. That's good for workers who want fair pay, and it's good for business owners who are already paying their employees what they deserve -- since those who are doing right by their employees are undercut by competitors who aren't.

See, current guidelines protect employers from having to give away all their hard-earned dollars to workers who earn just slightly above the poverty level (for a family of four). That really ought to be enough, because if you're raking in almost 24 grand a year, there's no reason to be additionally compensated for the extra shifts you put in at work to be able to make ends meet. But oh no, as per usual, President Obama is trying to destroy the free market and employers' rights, and this will no doubt be a jobs-killer, because if businesses have to pay their employees for working, they cannot possibly survive and will all shut down, goodbye American economy.

The White House fact sheet also notes that the president's plan will "extend overtime pay and the minimum wage to nearly 5 million workers within the first year of its implementation, of which 56 percent are women," so you know this is also part of the War on Men, even though Obama is the real sexist (still haven't figured out how that works exactly).

But why does the current salary threshold for overtime pay need to be changed? Because, as the White House reminds us, it "has only been updated once since the 1970s, when the Bush Administration published a weak rule with the strong support of industry." And the failure to update overtime regulations means fewer workers qualify for overtime, which means more workers are working long hard hours and still barely surviving:

For example, a convenience store manager, fast food assistant manager, or office worker may be expected to work 50 or 60 hours a week or more, making barely enough to keep a family out of poverty, and not receiving a dime of overtime pay. For some of these employees, not receiving overtime pay means that they are not even receiving the minimum wage when all of their hours of overtime are taken into account.

So the president is going to executively fix all that, and best of all? He doesn't even need congressional approval, which means business owners and the Republicans who love them can throw all the "Waaaahhhhh UNFAIR!" temper tantrums they want during the comment period, but that's about it. The Department of Labor will listen to their complaints and say, "Uh huh, yeah, that's real tough for you, Walmart," but ultimately, the administration will issue whatever rule it wants. Prepare for another presidential throat-cramming.

[ HuffPo / White House Fact Sheet ]