Ryan's Omnibus bill abandons American workers for cheap imported labor and waters down prevailing wages.

Rep. Paul Ryan has done so little to help labor and business in Wisconsin, it’s almost stunning. As House speaker, Ryan is taking that attitude nationwide.

Even my conservative friend in Milwaukee alerted me to this story via his most reliable news source, Breitbart. It wasn’t as badly written as almost everything else is there, but still, I’m ready to go with The Hill’s story first:

The $1.1 trillion omnibus bill includes language that would dramatically increase the number of visas available for foreign workers … The provision could more than triple the number of H-2B visas for foreign workers seeking jobs at hotels, theme parks, ski resorts, golf courses, landscaping businesses, restaurants and bars … intended to boost the supply of non-agricultural seasonal workers.

I can see a need for agricultural labor, that's always been an issue, but this is ridiculous. The changes were spread out and almost unnoticeable in the 2,000-page budget (see pictures).

And after getting caught undermining American labor, surprise, it wasn't exactly Paul Ryan’s fault. Hey, he never did promise to protect American workers specifically. He just promised not to provide a path to citizenship. Come on, you knew that right?

A House GOP aide said the visa provision was written by the Judiciary Committee, and that the Speaker was not involved. The aide added that Ryan did not pledge that he wouldn’t touch any programs related to immigration.

Ryan's a true leader. But the bills threat to labor is real, no matter how fast Ryan backs away from taking responsibility. Oh, and he’s not exactly promising to immediately change the provisions either. 

Even Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions blasted the attack on labor. Pinch me I must be dreaming:

“These foreign workers are brought in exclusively to fill blue collar non-farm jobs in hotels, restaurants, construction, truck driving, and many other occupations sought by millions of Americans. The GOP-led Congress is about to deliver Obama a four-fold increase to one of the most controversial foreign worker programs. The result? Higher unemployment and lower wages for Americans.” Sessions estimates the number of H-2B visas will soar from 66,000 to 250,000 because of the language in the omnibus.

NumbersUSA, a group that advocates for reduced legal immigration levels, criticized Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) for allowing the provision into the omnibus after pledging to look out for American workers. “H-2B visas are for low-skilled foreign workers who typically compete with people who have a high school diploma or less and these are the people who are struggling the most. These are the people that Ryan seemed to be referencing in his speech and yet he sneaks in a provision in the omnibus that’s going to quadruple the number of low-skilled foreign worker visas.”

Ryan is also going after prevailing wages, like his old friend Scott Walker did in Wisconsin, leaving that decision up for corporate abuse. Here's that section of the bill:

So much for "Ryan calling on Congress to look after working-class families."

The AFL-CIO and the International Labor Working Group also took aim at the visa provision, warning it would lead to exploitation of foreign workers and Americans losing jobs. “The language basically rolls back protections for low-wage workers and guest workers and American workers in this industry while lowering the protections for workers” … it would also water down workers’ protections in dangerous industries such as forestry and seafood harvesting. 

"Logrolling" Assembly Republican Gannon pleads, "Throw me in Jail!"

Most Wanted?

One Wisconsin Now tried to make it as simple as possible. They warned a few Republicans they appeared to be breaking the law. 

We're talking about a few stubborn Republican legislators who are saying they won't vote on the budget if prevailing wage isn't repealed. They’re trying to intimidate fellow legislators. It’s a violation of state law:

Wisconsin State Statute 13.05, entitled "Logrolling prohibited," bars legislators from trading or making contingent their vote for or against one legislative matter for votes for or against another legislative matter … Class I felony penalty (pictured).

Will Republican Rep. Bob Gannon back away from his intimidation tactic? Nope. 

He says he won't be...wait for it, intimidated. Doh!:

“I’ve been told by members of my own caucus that it may be illegal to draw a line in the sand on what I will consider acceptable terms for prevailing wage reforms in the 2015 – 2017 state budget. Now a liberal Madison, WI, news outlet, One Wisconsin Now, asserts that taking a position of this nature may be a felony act. “My legal counsel disagrees with these interpretations of the law, and while a rogue prosecutor can at times get away with wild-eyed investigations and criminal-charging decisions, I’m willing to take that chance. Martyr me if you must, but the financial integrity of this state is too important to cow to tactics of intimidation. “Here goes my allegedly-illegal statement on the budget; 

‘I will not vote in favor of any budget that does not have real prevailing wage reform, including the removal of all local entities from the provisions of this law. There, I got it off my chest, and I feel totally refreshed."

Hate those "rogue prosecutors" who get away with winning a case or two against people who break the law.

Republicans make prevailing wage invisible!!!

Republicans have already come right out and said they want to lower wages and get rid of the prevailing wage law. That’s the GOP’s version of stimulating the state’s economy, cutting wages. 

jsonline: The state would roll back the minimum pay requirements for construction workers on three-fifths of the public works projects that now have them, under legislation unveiled by Assembly Republicans Monday.

But this upside down, inside out one party joke gets even more ridiculous, as Republicans once again twist themselves into a pretzel so they can stick it to the unions.

The bill would exempt certain information collected as part of the prevailing wage system from the state's open records law.

Why would Republicans hide such information? Living up to his reputation for being the legislatures biggest asshole, Rep. Robin Vos gleefully took the unions out:

Vos said that was an attempt to thwart unions who use that data to argue that contractors and local governments may not be correctly complying with the prevailing wage law.

Wow, a big win for Republicans, while no one really has to own up to what they are really paying.  

But just to make sure it's completely invisible, Vos included this outrageous “wink and a nod” and wave of his magic wand:

No longer require contractors to sign affidavits stating they had complied with the law.  

Walker Kills more Jobs, good paying ones, when he repeals Prevailing Wage Law.

Why are we debating prevailing wage, when the concept behind it is so easy to figure. Common sense apparently isn't enough, especially for republicans who don't need a reason anymore to do whatever the hell they want.

Proven wrong again...

But now we finally have research that delves deep into the effects of prevailing wage.

It's interesting to note the rightwing loony tune "fellows" at the MacIver Institute came out with the headline story pictured here, a day after the research below nuked their wildly inaccurate conclusions. There will always be a whole bunch of low information voters who will their propaganda:

New Research Exposes Folly of Wisconsin's Prevailing Wage Repeal Proposal: Just completed research by Colorado State University Economist Kevin Duncan and Smart Cities Prevail Researcher Alex Lantsberg reveals that Wisconsin’s proposed prevailing wage repeal (AB 32) will cost the state nearly 9,000 jobs, $1.2 billion in economic output, $77 million in tax revenue, and will export an estimated $500 million in construction investments out of state.

The study uses data from the Economic Census of Construction and industry standard IMPLAN software to compare and model spending shifts in public construction that occur in prevailing wage and non-prevailing wage states. Factors include the economic ripple effect that wages have on spending, job creation, and tax revenue; industry responses to wage rates in terms of workforce productivity and worksite efficiency; and rates of in-state vs. out-of-state contracting on public works.

“The data clearly shows that repealing prevailing wage in Wisconsin will have no effect on project costs—but it will eliminate thousands of jobs across all economic sectors, suppress economic output, necessitate millions in cuts to other public services, lead to reduced productivity and efficiency at the job site, and export hundreds of millions of construction dollars out of state,” said Lantsberg. “Repeal will benefit are those who live in states other than Wisconsin.”

In their research, Lantsberg and Duncan devote an entire section to debunking the myth of cost savings by repeal proponents, noting that lower wage standards will deprive Wisconsin of favorable industry responses from prevailing wage standards. In Wisconsin’s case, this includes a 7% increase in worksite productivity and 2% reduction in materials and fuels usage rates that come from employing higher skilled, local workers.

“These factors would, by themselves, more than exhaust any savings realized from imposing lower wages—especially since labor (wages and benefits) comprise less than 20% of the total cost of any public construction project,” Duncan added. “Ultimately, over ten years, this measure will not save money, but it will reduce real income to Wisconsin families by $5.1 billion, shrink Wisconsin's economy by another $12 billion, and degrade the quality of construction on highways, schools, hospitals, and other public works. The facts are clear—repeal of prevailing wage in Wisconsin is just bad policy.”

Video: Republican Sen. Fitzgerald admits RTW will lower wages, not raise them as claimed.

Let's say I was surprised, even impressed that the press core asked all the right questions for once. Unfortunately, it's moments like the one below that end up on the cutting room floor so to speak.

Spotlighting the failure of supply side economics pushed by Scott Walker and the plundering pirates under the Capitol dome - business tax cuts, tort reform, deregulation - reporters focused on Sen. Scott Fitzgerald's word salad avoidance of clearly admitting right-to-work and repeal of the prevailing wage rules will lower wages, period. That will save money, all the while taking money out of peoples pockets and the general revenue fund.

The video is an example of what happens when Republicans have to answer an actual followup question, and another, and another, instead of changing the subject. We get the truth:

February 25, 2015 - Immediately after the Wisconsin State Senate passed SB 44, a so-called Right-to-Work bill, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald held a press conference. When arguing for the bill on the floor Fitzgerald claimed that the bill would open the door to more job creation, but at the press conference he admitted that the effects would be to depress wages and "take pressure off the transportation fund."

How long will we be living out this delusional ideology?

Intentional Deception: There are times when I think Republicans just don't know enough about an issue to manage it well or provide a solution. There are also times I think they're just lazy, and don't want to work. After watching Fitzgerald answer the reporters questions? It's all a grand deception!

Killing Consumer Demand and Jobs: This negatively impacts consumer demand, reduces take home pay, and lowers discretionary spending. It doesn't just lower our standard of living even more, but cuts general revenue, resulting in more spending cuts in the future.

Did you ever live down the street from the stinkiest family in the neighborhood? I did, but I didn't have to move in with them. Well, it looks like that option is off the table now.