You mention ‘the right to work part time’— can you describe what you mean by this in more depth?
In California the "right to work part-time" means:
✅ Employees have the legal protection to work less than 40 hours per week without facing discrimination from their employer.
✅ Emoliyees are entitled to most of the same rights and protections as full-time employees, including:
➡️ Minimum wage
➡️ Overtime pay if working over 40 hours
➡️ Sick leave
➡️ Worker's compensation
Would you add any attributes to this list? Would you advocate for an expansion of benefits be given to part time workers? (If so, which ones?)
One caveat to the current law (again, in CA) is that the exact definition of "part-time" is usually determined by the employer; which makes it easier for employers to wiggle around protections if they want to be exploitative.
Of course people who want to work should be able to work, but it seems a bit hollow without discussing wages and the need (or lack of need) for income.
It's funny how quickly the conversation turns. This was written in the summer of 2022 and it was taken as a given that nominal wages were rising quickly, so much so that it was seen as a problem. That gave me a window to talk about barriers to the labor market. I wanted to attack this myopic market view that many hold that all you need to work is a paycheck high enough to get you off the couch. That's not enough for a lot of people.
And then fast forward to 2024 and its almost offensive to say that wages have continued to rise and rose faster than prices for the past year. Data is pretty consistent though, the past five decades has seen anemic wage growth but the past five years have seen wages finally start to rise consistently.
I wonder about inflation and wage growth. Are there govt. stats that disaggregate inflation by income? Also, the normal inflation stat is for "all urban consumers". Do we know if there are differences in inflation for urban consumers and non-urban consumers? This seems somewhat relevant given the strong correlation in voting Republican with distance from urban areas.
Good stuff, Kathryn! We should look at incentives in our tax code that are inconsistent with our "work ethic." We tax payrolls on top of labor income while taxing capital gains at lower rates than wages. Eliminating the payroll tax (15.2%) would boost take-home pay for all workers, make it easier for employers to afford hired help, and could make a big difference in the success of small businesses. In addition, it would help reduce our unfunded obligations for Social Security and Medicare, which will exhaust Trust Fund balances in about ten years. Both entitlements could be funded with income taxes if we raised marginal tax rates on higher incomes.
A lot of people like the idea of replacing the payroll tax with an income tax, because it certainly makes a lot of fiscal sense, and almost every other country does it that way. But the payroll tax also gives workers a sense of ownership over Social Security, makes it clear that they earned this benefit. It's also very popular. It's consistently the tax Americans mind paying the least.
Yup! Especially making work visas a much simpler process with much higher probability of approval would be a big boost. Right now, the estimate for the probability of getting a work visa for potential Mexican migrants is 0.05% (the denominator is not just people who apply for a visa but also those who would likely apply but choose not to because they know they won't get it).
Great article!
You mention ‘the right to work part time’— can you describe what you mean by this in more depth?
In California the "right to work part-time" means:
✅ Employees have the legal protection to work less than 40 hours per week without facing discrimination from their employer.
✅ Emoliyees are entitled to most of the same rights and protections as full-time employees, including:
➡️ Minimum wage
➡️ Overtime pay if working over 40 hours
➡️ Sick leave
➡️ Worker's compensation
Would you add any attributes to this list? Would you advocate for an expansion of benefits be given to part time workers? (If so, which ones?)
One caveat to the current law (again, in CA) is that the exact definition of "part-time" is usually determined by the employer; which makes it easier for employers to wiggle around protections if they want to be exploitative.
Of course people who want to work should be able to work, but it seems a bit hollow without discussing wages and the need (or lack of need) for income.
It's funny how quickly the conversation turns. This was written in the summer of 2022 and it was taken as a given that nominal wages were rising quickly, so much so that it was seen as a problem. That gave me a window to talk about barriers to the labor market. I wanted to attack this myopic market view that many hold that all you need to work is a paycheck high enough to get you off the couch. That's not enough for a lot of people.
And then fast forward to 2024 and its almost offensive to say that wages have continued to rise and rose faster than prices for the past year. Data is pretty consistent though, the past five decades has seen anemic wage growth but the past five years have seen wages finally start to rise consistently.
I wonder about inflation and wage growth. Are there govt. stats that disaggregate inflation by income? Also, the normal inflation stat is for "all urban consumers". Do we know if there are differences in inflation for urban consumers and non-urban consumers? This seems somewhat relevant given the strong correlation in voting Republican with distance from urban areas.
Good stuff, Kathryn! We should look at incentives in our tax code that are inconsistent with our "work ethic." We tax payrolls on top of labor income while taxing capital gains at lower rates than wages. Eliminating the payroll tax (15.2%) would boost take-home pay for all workers, make it easier for employers to afford hired help, and could make a big difference in the success of small businesses. In addition, it would help reduce our unfunded obligations for Social Security and Medicare, which will exhaust Trust Fund balances in about ten years. Both entitlements could be funded with income taxes if we raised marginal tax rates on higher incomes.
A lot of people like the idea of replacing the payroll tax with an income tax, because it certainly makes a lot of fiscal sense, and almost every other country does it that way. But the payroll tax also gives workers a sense of ownership over Social Security, makes it clear that they earned this benefit. It's also very popular. It's consistently the tax Americans mind paying the least.
Yup! Especially making work visas a much simpler process with much higher probability of approval would be a big boost. Right now, the estimate for the probability of getting a work visa for potential Mexican migrants is 0.05% (the denominator is not just people who apply for a visa but also those who would likely apply but choose not to because they know they won't get it).
Wow! I understand immigration economics more than I understand immigration law and policy, but statistics like those leave me whipsawed.