Posted by
The Eagle's Quill on Tuesday, September 12, 2006 6:30:50 PM
It's not often that Democrat politicians make the right public policy moves, but when they do it is worth giving credit where credit is due. And interestingly, two such moves in the right direction have come to my attention just this week.
First, Mayor Daley of Chicago
vetoed the so-called "living wage" ordinance that would have applied to Wal-Mart and other "big-box" retailers. It would have required such retailers to provide at least a $13 an hour salary and benefits by 2010. The ordinance had been passed by the Chicago City Council in July. The City Council could yet override the veto.
His veto has
angered organized labor and the left-wing activist group ACORN. With opponents like that, you know Mayor Daley is doing the right thing.
In his veto message the mayor stated this about the ordinance, "I believe it would drive jobs and businesses from our city, penalizing neighborhoods that need additional economic activity the most. In light of this, I believe it is my duty to veto this ordinance."
There is actually a much more powerful reason for vetoing such a bill. It is a violation of the civil liberties of companies to tell them how much they must compensate their employees. Some people may argue that government should in fact require private companies to provide a "living" or "minimum" wage. If so, it makes their complaints about "civil liberties" in other realms much more suspect.
Second, Democrat State Senator Jack Scott of Pasadena, California has written a bill to
curtail the "Dance of the Lemons" in California's public schools. This "Dance" occurs when an incompetent teacher who voluntarily leaves a school, must be hired, by union rules, by another principal in the district who has an opening. Scott's bill is meant to ban the practice for low-scoring schools and limit it for others. The good news is that the bill passed with strong majorities in the Democrat controlled CA House and Senate, and is awaiting the governor's signature.
The teachers unions, the California Teachers Association and California Federation of Teachers opposed the bill, as well as hard core leftists like Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg. With opponents like this, you know it must be a good bill.
Indeed,
conservatives in California have
praised the bill as a step in the right direction.
- posted by Glen Kissel