A4
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Overtime
rule promises
more than it
will deliver
T
he president wants to
change the rules on when
workers are eligible
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with attempts to increase the
minimum wage, he wrongly
assumes that government can
increase worker income by fiat
where there is no corresponding
increase in economic
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The Fair Labor Standards
Act mandates that hourly wage
earners be paid time-and-a-
half when they work more than
40 hours in a regular work
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and some hourly workers
— managers, executives,
administrative staff and
professionals — from receiving
overtime if they meet narrowly
defined criteria and are paid at
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The criteria, including
the wage levels, are set by
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The president wants to increase
the minimum salary to $970 per
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The president also proposes
mechanisms that would increase
that minimum automatically over
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The administration said
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workers will become eligible for
overtime under the rule, and will
collectively receive more than
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“It’s one of the single most
important steps we can take to
help grow middle-class wages,”
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A lobster in every pot, and a
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it makes a great headline, unless
the president is writing checks
he can’t guarantee anyone a pay
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The operative word in all of
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Though many politicians
would have us believe otherwise,
businesses don’t have a magic
pot of money that fills up to
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And they don’t employ people as
part of a social welfare scheme,
but to accomplish work that
contributes to the profitability of
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Aren’t there some employers
who take advantage and classify
workers as “exempt” just to
cheat them out of overtime? Yes,
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most employers are fair, and try
to offer pay competitive in the
local market commensurate with
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This mandate raises no
new revenue, delivers no
new customers, produces no
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rather than get a pay increase,
most workers will probably
see their base wage fall so that
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The assistant manager
working 50 hours now and
making $35,000 as a salaried
employee will still work 50
hours and make $35,000 as an
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And if it did the math on its
own figures, the administration
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in extra wages averages out to
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Hardly the stuff that middle class
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All Americans could use
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But most Americans are smart
enough to know that won’t
happen unless there’s more
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Too bad the president and his
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F ARMER ’ S F ATE
Singing the summer diet
duet, down on the farm
By Brianna Walker
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
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running, the equipment is running at
high gear, the animals are heading
out to summer pasture, and every-
where you turn you see itty bitty,
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That’s right, it’s swimsuit sea-
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Not wanting to miss out on the
pain of swimsuit shopping, I found
a black and white polka dot one I
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realized my caloric intake outnum-
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for a little spring cleaning … start-
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My husband came home just as
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“The horror,” his face seemed to
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C ORRECTIONS
Applause for 1862
Celebration
To the Editor:
I applaud the people of Canyon
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the Forest Service, clarified that she has volunteered for the health fair City at this year’s 1862 celebra-
since its beginning 21 years ago, but started as the lead organizer a few WLRQ :KDW D JUHDW ZD\ WR KRQRU
the past through those lying in the
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cemeteries!
I remember Blanche Hicks was
involved in my Sunday School
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worked as a boy for her son Pren-
Blue Mountain
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While Louisa Sewell had died
before my time, I recall my moth-
er’s brother, Cliff Mulcare, who
worked in Seneca, would come
to Canyon City occasionally on
195 N. Canyon Blvd. • John Day, OR 97845
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541-575-0710 • Fax 541-575-1244
a 6-year-old, to pass the time with
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USPS 226-340 Louisa Sewell’s sons, was a spe-
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Tom had worked as a teamster with
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
my grandfather’s brother, John Pat
John Day, Oregon
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MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
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Lindsay Bullock office@bmeagle.com
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Grant County
Elsewhere in Oregon
Continental U.S., Outside Oregon
Outside Continental U.S.
“I don’t need to limit my dairy,”
he continued, “because I’m saving
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I exercise? When I can just save up
for a lap band?”
The only exercise my husband
seems to enjoy is sidestepping the is-
sue, pushing his luck and over-work-
ing his brain to think up excuses for
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That evening I went jogging
alone, all the while thinking about
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running is a strenuous exercise which
would help convert fats, sugars and
starches – into aches, pains and
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go jogging again, but as I picked up
my sneakers, my toes voted against
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an exercise we could do together: Up
1,2, 3; down 1,2, 3 … And then the
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Brianna Walker writes occasion-
ally about the Farmer’s Fate in the
Blue Mountain Eagle.
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A DMINISTRATIVE A SSISTANT
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Him: Nothing wrong
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Me: We should
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Him: We should
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Me: The road to
Brianna
health is paved with
Walker
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Him: The road to
the kitchen is full of new dimen-
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Me: How about a stationary bike?
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Him: Mmmm … buns of cinnamon,
with sugar, and frosting …
“Well, at least you’ll never have
to worry about your abs of steels
setting off the airport metal detec-
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“I don’t need exercise,” he told
me, “I already have the body of a
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1 year
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See the Blue Mountain Eagle on the Internet
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POSTMASTER — send address changes to
Blue Mountain Eagle
195 N. Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845-1187
Copyright © 2015 Blue Mountain Eagle
All rights reserved. No part of this publication covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced
or copied in any form or by any means — graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
taping or information storage and retrieval systems — without written permission of the publisher.
I see other familiar names in the
Blue Mountain Eagle article, and
look forward to next year’s cele-
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Larry Gale Valade
Fredericksburg, Va.
Trails group
appreciates response
To the Editor:
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responses and takes all concerns
seriously in regards to building and
maintaining multi-use, purpose built,
single-track trails on the Malheur
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Learning more about the Wildlife
Emphasis Area, within the Magone
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those trails to be moved out of that
area and into the eastern part of the
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has transpired when the new propos-
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It is our goal to create human-pow-
ered recreation on this incredible,
beautiful forest, while taking all en-
vironmental factors and community
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Some of the proposed trails are
on old closed roads, we do this
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understand we can not take an open
road – whether it is minimally used
or not – and turn it into a trail, as
road-to-trail conversion makes the
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must use already closed/decommis-
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roads have grades that are too steep
and/or run along stream beds, that is
not sustainable for trails or the envi-
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for ways to build and maintain trails
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have constructive discussions for the
greater good and future of our com-
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Andrea Mesple-Herburger
Grant County Chapter Rep.,
COTA
John Day
L
etters policy: Letters to the Editor is a forum for Blue Mountain Eagle readers to express themselves on local, state, national or world issues. Brevity
is good, but longer letters will be asked to be contained to 350 words. No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person. No thank-you letters.
Submissions to this page become property of the Eagle. The Eagle reserves the right to edit letters for length and for content. Letters must be original and
signed by the writer. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers should include a telephone number so they can be reached for questions. Deadline is 5
p.m. Friday. Send letters to editor@bmeagle.com, or Blue Mountain Eagle, 195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845; or fax to 541-575-1244.
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