Matthew Yglesias offers a sterling bit of logical analysis of the new overtime rules:
Now as I say, I have no particular expertise on this topic. I do know, however, that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce isn't being run by idiots -- it's being run by smart people looking out for the interests of large employers. And I know that large employers would prefer to pay overtime to fewer people rather than more people. So I know the odds that the Chamber of Commerce is supporting some new overtime rules that will make more people eligible are rather low. Meanwhile, I know that the AFL-CIO, which represents employees, and wants more people to be eligible for overtime, says this law will make fewer people eligible.
So to believe the administration you need to believe that the AFL-CIO is lying about this for no reason, and that it hasn't occured to anyone at the Chamber of Commerce that these rules will be bad for its constituents. Isn't it a lot more likely that the Chamber knows exactly what it's doing, the AFL-CIO is telling the truth, and the Bush administration is trying to mislead people? I think it's pretty clear what's going on here. So why won't the Times tell us?
For a limited time:
Donate $20 or more to In These Times and we'll send you a copy of Let This Radicalize You.
In this new book, longtime organizers and movement educators Mariame Kaba and Kelly Hayes examine the political lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath, including the convergence of mass protest and mass formations of mutual aid. Let This Radicalize You answers the urgent question: What fuels and sustains activism and organizing when it feels like our worlds are collapsing?
We've partnered with the publisher, Haymarket Books, and 100% of your donation will go towards supporting In These Times.
Christopher Hayes is the host of MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes. He is an editor at large at the Nation and a former senior editor of In These Times.
