Obama Talks Overtime Pay This Labor Day Weekend
Overtime pay and evading a government shutdown is the focus of economic development this holiday weekend.
In his Weekly Address, President Obama makes this clear. With the nation seeing, in some regards, record-breaking prosperity during his administration, he's steadfast in taking a holistic approach to cash flow.
In August, 173,000 jobs were added, he said, boosting the total of some 13.1 million new jobs in 7 years, "the longest streak of job creation on record." The unemployment rate dropped to 5.1 percent, the lowest it's been in 7 years; 16 million Americans have gained health insurance recently; and 17 states and about 30 cities and counties have raised the minimum wage.
Even the good ol' American auto industry is "on track to sell more cars and trucks this year than it has in more than a decade," he said.
However, there's still truth to the saying, "when White America catches a cold, Black America catches pneumonia," and to keep from making the all-around "wildly irresponsible" move of shutting down the government for the second time in two years and stalling the economic momentum gained since he took office, he says, by the end of this month, he's looking to co-sign a budget of "smart investments in our military readiness, our infastructure, our schools, public health and research."
Specifically, "We've proposed extending overtime protections to as many as five million Americans."
How you love that government cheese?
The POTUS is scheduled to sign an executive order today that, tangentially, requires paid sick leave for federal contract employees, including the 300,000 who currently have none. The order goes into effect in 2017, CBS News reports, and covers one hour of pay for every 30 worked.
Watch Obama's Weekly Address in full below.
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(Photo: Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)
