Economics
WEALTH AND MONEY, PART III: PHYSICS VERSUS MONEY
Imagine yourself an intergalactic traveler visiting Earth. You land in a place called America and notice the crumbling infrastructure. You wonder, “Why would a people who had built such magnificent highways, bridges and airports allow them to fall into such disrepair?” You question:
“Does America have sufficient cement, sand and gravel to rebuild its infrastructure? Yes. Is there adequate structural steel and other needed materials? Yes. Is there construction equipment? Yes, it sits idle. Is there fuel for the equipment? Certainly, America currently ...
The Cost of Cheap Food
In economics, as in much of life, everything has consequences. There are always trade-offs. You reap what you sow. The proposed CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) in Bayfield County is no exception. We all want and benefit from cheap food. But what are the consequences?
Proponents of CAFOs claim that modern, large scale agriculture is more efficient. Cheap food is supposedly a great success story of the American economy. But is modern agriculture really cheaper or have many of the inevitable costs simply been ignored or shifted to someone else?
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WITH UNIONS, EVERYONE BENEFITS
WITH UNIONS, EVERYONE BENEFITS
The concept of Unions, workers banding together to improve their wages, hours and working conditions, has been the great equalizer for workers in the United States for over one hundred years.
Only since 1971 have the public sector workers in Minnesota had the right to bargain collectively with their employers. A group interested in forming a Union goes through an election in the workplace. If a simple majority of eligible voters decide that they want a union, then everyone must be represented equally. Workers can choose not to be a ...
PREVAILING WAGE
PREVAILING WAGE
By John Spiegelhoff
Prevailing wage is the minimum hourly wage employers must pay certain workers who work on construction projects where state dollars are used to fund the construction. The prevailing wage includes the employer's cost of benefits.
Prevailing wage is used in any construction project funded in whole or in part by federal or state funds. For example, state-funded projects can be projects to construct highways, roads, wastewater treatment plants, public utilities, colleges, schools or park and recreation improvements. The prevailing wage ...
