#Socialites, get a load of this! Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has proposed a bill for a four-day workweek without any loss of pay! Are you here for it? Are you feeling the Bern?
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On Wednesday (March 13), Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Independent lawmaker who ran twice for the Democratic presidential nomination, introduced a bill to establish a four-day workweek in the United States. That’s right a 32-hour workweek, instead of 40, and employees won’t lose out on any pay. Sanders argued that according to past studies and pilot programs, results have shown that four-day workweeks can increase productivity and happiness in the workplace.
The bill would lower the threshold required for overtime pay from 40 hours to 32. It would also require the overtime pay rate to be 1.5 times an employee’s regular salary for workdays that are longer than eight hours and 2 times an employee’s regular salary for workdays longer than 12 hours. Bernie Sanders said that his proposed legislation is not a “radical idea,” especially knowing that employees present day are more than 400 times more productive than they were in the 1940s; yet they are still working longer hours and earning lower wages than they did decades ago.
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On Thursday (March 14), Senator Bernie Sanders said, “Moving to a 32-hour workweek with no loss of pay is not a radical idea. Today, American workers are over 400% more productive than they were in the 1940s. And yet millions of Americans are working longer hours for lower wages than they were decades ago.”
He continued, “That has got to change. The financial gains from the major advancements in artificial intelligence, automation, and new technology must benefit the working class, not just corporate chief executives and wealthy stockholders on Wall Street. It is time to reduce the stress level in our country and allow Americans to enjoy a better quality of life. It is time for a 32-hour workweek with no loss in pay.”
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Senator Bernie Sanders believes in his new proposed bill so much that he got into a little heated dispute when a reporter with Fox Business questioned him on the legislation. Fox Business reporter Hillary Vaughn asked Sanders, “Can I talk to you about the 32-hour workweek?” Sanders asked what network she worked for and Vaughn said it looked like Democrats want businesses to be taxed more with this type of bill.
Sanders interrupted her and demanded to know, “Really? This how we do things?” The two continued to go back and forth, talking over one another, with Sanders yelling out, “Excuse Me,” prompting Vaughn to tell him she didn’t get to ask her question.
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Looking directly into the camera to make his case, Sanders said, “We held a hearing on a 32-hour workweek because what we have seen is that over the last 50 years, despite a huge increase in worker productivity, almost all of the wealth has gone to the top 1 percent, while 60 percent of the people [are] living paycheck to paycheck.”
Sanders continued, “Many of our people are exhausted. We work the longest hours of any people in the industrialized world. I think it’s time for a shortened workweek.” Vaughn then tried to ask her question for a second time, but Sanders cut her off again, flashing his hand in front of her face.
Vaughn then questioned how businesses could survive with a shortened workweek. Sanders argued that Amazon founder and owner Jeff Bezos pays a lower tax rate than the average worker, which in turn shows “we have a real problem with our tax system.” He added, “I think that billionaires have got to start paying their fair share of taxes.”
#Socialites, be sure to check out the post below, then leave us your thoughts in a comment after!
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