Paramount Theatre
Missing the "Point"
RECEIVED Tue., Dec. 6, 2016
Dear Editor,
It's not just money in regard to "Point Austin: Hours to Burn" [News, Dec. 2]. Nor is it our dear glorious leader Greg Abbott's stopping the feds from upping the salary levels that kick in required time and a half under the overtime laws. You, and many others in the media, the law, and the judiciary (Judge Mazzant, are you listening?) have completely missed the point. Time and a half was not passed out of the goodness of the hearts of weak-kneed liberals of yore. If I, as an employer, have two employees working 60 hours per week, I could just as easily hire a third employee. The object of time and a half is to increase employment. An economic argument is moot; if all employers obey the law, the costs are passed equally to customers no matter who makes the good. And, speaking as an employer, I, for darned sure, am not going to let my competitor dodge a cost that I am forced to pay.
President Obama could have effected this change his first day in office. He didn't. There is plenty of blame to go around. A lot of people have suffered.
It's not just money in regard to "Point Austin: Hours to Burn" [News, Dec. 2]. Nor is it our dear glorious leader Greg Abbott's stopping the feds from upping the salary levels that kick in required time and a half under the overtime laws. You, and many others in the media, the law, and the judiciary (Judge Mazzant, are you listening?) have completely missed the point. Time and a half was not passed out of the goodness of the hearts of weak-kneed liberals of yore. If I, as an employer, have two employees working 60 hours per week, I could just as easily hire a third employee. The object of time and a half is to increase employment. An economic argument is moot; if all employers obey the law, the costs are passed equally to customers no matter who makes the good. And, speaking as an employer, I, for darned sure, am not going to let my competitor dodge a cost that I am forced to pay.
President Obama could have effected this change his first day in office. He didn't. There is plenty of blame to go around. A lot of people have suffered.
Larkin Skinner
