What the Biden Administration Could Learn From California’s Attempt To Ban Independent Contracting

Published

1 year ago

April 5, 2024

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Perhaps I’m old fashioned, but I don’t see a role for government in determining working arrangements beyond some basic rules governing safety and non-discrimination. In a free society with a generally healthy economy, employers and employees can hammer out their own deals. As long as force or coercion isn’t involved, it’s not the legislature’s or federal bureaucracy’s concern whether someone, say, takes contract jobsor full-time employment.

I cannot recall a single time that any government rule has improved my life in any noticeable way. It’s usually the opposite. After the Legislature passedAssembly Bill 5the “landmark” labor law that largely banned companies from using independent contractorsmany Californians lost their freelance income, with many adopting costly workarounds that involved myriad legal and accounting costs. Thanks very much for the “protections.”

AB 5 was an unmitigated disaster. That should be obvious to any policymaker in California and at the national level. An old friend of mine had a saying that went, “even the worm learns.” It referred to a scientific experiment that found if you prod the dumbest of creatures (worms) several thousand times they will eventually learn not to squirm in a particular direction. The Biden administration is filled with Californians (Kamala Harris, Xavier Becerra, Julie Su), yet they somehow missed the requisitelesson. They apparently need a lot more prodding.

To recall, the California Supreme Court in the 2018 Dynamexdecisionimposed a strict ABC test on companies that used contractors. The case involved a delivery service that shifted its workforce from permanent employees to contractors. The court decided that contractors must be A) outside the control of the company; B) do work outside the company’s core mission; and C) be working as contractors in general. Unions were giddy. The Legislature codified the decision in AB 5.

California’s progressive Democrats, who apparently spend little time talking to normal people, were shocked at the results. Instead of hiring contractors as full-time workers with 9-5 schedules and oodles of benefits, companies downsized their workforces. Unions claimed they were battling”wage theft”but there is no theft when willing workers take jobs from willing employers at agreed-upon terms.

In the midst of stay-at-home, lawmakers got an earful from struggling Californians who no longer were free to pursue home-based incomes. Volunteer musical and arts gigs had toshutteras a result of these work prohibitions. Lawmakers promised advancements for workers, but instead made their lives miserable. The funniest result: A publication that advocated for the law laid off its California workers.

The Legislature ultimately exempted 100-plus industries from the law. Voters then approved an initiative (still tied up in the courts) thatexempted ride-sharing drivers. Granted, lawmakers have legislative cars at their disposal, but those of us who take Uber and Lyftand routinely talk with our driversrealize most of them do not want to work full-time for those companies. They like flexible schedules and fill-in work as they pursue college or other careers.

Apparently, the Biden administration doesn’t pay attention to California news events. Through it all, the president has doggedly pursued implementing some variety of AB 5 through legislation and the federal Department of Labor. It recently implemented a new rule that echoes ABC test standards. The newruledoesn’t have the authority of something passed by Congress or legislatures, but it makes it tougher to classify workers as contractors and could disrupt many industries. It’s clearly an attempt to promote AB 5’s rules.

In a strikingly biasedarticle, theLos Angeles Times’ Noah Bierman chides some conservative publications for claiming that the president is taking California’s approach nationwide, when it merely restores the old Obama administration approach to these matters. Yet Bierman admits that Biden’s “promise to replicate California’s law at the national level has fallen victim to congressional gridlock and industry clout.”

In other words, the president promised to replicate AB 5 nationally but has failed. I can only surmise that the Los Angeles Times doesn’t pay much attention to California news, either. As noted above, AB 5 isn’t the victim of Congress or industrybut of massive, angry blowback from California freelancers, many of them Democratsin multiple professions who didn’t appreciate losing their jobs. The story focused on San Francisco’s settlement with a company that connects workers with hospitality industry jobs, so AB 5 is still wreaking havoc.

The most aggravating part of the Times article cites a study from the pro-unionEconomic Policy Institute, which finds “blue-collar workers classified as contractors are losing out on as much as $16,700 a year compared with what they would have made as regular employees.” Perhaps it should show how much money these workers are losing when companies axe their jobs because of the AB 5-style mandates. When it comes to economics, union think tanks, reporters, and the Biden administration are as clever as those proverbial worms.

This column was first published in The Orange County Register.

World

Donald Trump sending ‘top of the line’ weapons to support NATO in Ukraine war

Published

2 hours ago

July 15, 2025

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Donald Trump sending 'top of the line' weapons to support NATO in Ukraine war

Donald Trump has agreed to send “top of the line weapons” to NATO to support Ukraine – and threatened Russia with “severe” tariffs if it doesn’t agree to end the war.

Speaking with NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte during a meeting at the White House, the US president said: “We’ve made a deal today where we are going to be sending them weapons, and they’re going to be paying for them.

“This is billions of dollars worth of military equipment which is going to be purchased from the United States, going to NATO, and that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield.”

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It comes as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had a “very good conversation” with Mr Trump late on Monday. He thanked him for the “willingness to support Ukraine and to continue working together to stop the killings”.

Weapons being sent from to Ukraine include surface-to-air Patriot missile systems and batteries, which the country has asked for to defend itself from Russian air strikes.

Mr Trump also said he was “very unhappy” with Russia, and threatened “severe tariffs” of “about 100%” if there isn’t a deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days.

The White House added that the US would put “secondary sanctions” on countries that buy oil from Russia if an agreement was not reached.

Mr Zelenskyy previously criticised Vladimir Putin’s “desire to drag [the war] out”, and said Kyiv was “working on major defence agreements with America”.

It comes after weeks of frustration from Mr Trump over Mr Putin’s refusal to agree to an end to the conflict, with the Russian leader telling the US president he would “not back down” from Moscow’s goals in Ukraine at the start of the month.

During the briefing on Monday, Mr Trump said he had held calls with Mr Putin where he would think “that was a nice phone call”, but then “missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city, and that happens three or four times”.

“I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy,” he added.

Earlier this year, Mr Trump told Mr Zelenskyy “you’re gambling with World War Three” in a fiery White House meeting, and suggested Ukraine started the war against Russia as he sought to negotiate an end to the conflict.

After Mr Trump’s briefing, Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev said on Telegram: “If this is all that Trump had in mind to say about Ukraine today, then all the steam has gone out.”

Meanwhile, Mr Zelenskyy met with US special envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv, where they “discussed the path to peace” by “strengthening Ukraine’s air defence, joint production, and procurement of defence weapons in collaboration with Europe”.

He thanked both the envoy for the visit and Mr Trump “for the important signals of support and the positive decisions for both our countries”.

Environment

How one man with a hacksaw and an e-bike became a Texas flood ‘hero’

Published

2 hours ago

July 15, 2025

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How one man with a hacksaw and an e-bike became a Texas flood 'hero'

Locals call him the “Bicycle hero,” but Texas man Evan Wayne says he’s just doing what he can to help his community after it was cut off due to the recent devastating and deadly flooding tragedy.

When the local Sandy Creek flooded following torrential rains in Texas, it destroyed the only bridge into one community. Residents were cut off from access to supplies, including everything from necessities like food, water, and medicine to basic comforts.

Although the bridge was impassable to cars, volunteers who quickly organized to help the stranded residents found that the damaged bridge could still be traversed on foot. Or in the case of Evan Wayne, it could be covered by an electric bike.

Evan joined hundreds of volunteers who answered the call of grassroots organizers by working together without any official capacity. While many started by hand-pulling garden carts of supplies uphill to reach the stricken community, Evan jury-rigged a trailer to an e-bike and took on as much of the load as he could, helping shuttle much-needed food and gear into the community over hundreds of round-trip journeys.

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“This was a dog trailer 48 hours ago. I had a hacksaw, hacked the top off, grabbed some bungee cords, and here we are,” explained Evan in an interview with CBS Austin, while waiting for the next load of gear to be stacked on his trailer.

In the first two days of the operation, he made around 100 round trips each day, shuttling food and water as well as critical rescue supplies. “Right now, I’m waiting on a couple of chainsaws that I’ll bring in for a crew that’s been going at it with handsaws so far.”

In addition to delivering needed supplies, Evan has often found himself moving something even more important: information. “I’ve flagged down medics. I’ve been the guy that goes between Austin EMT and STAR Flight because I’m quicker than cell phones sometimes, people don’t have signal a lot of the time.”

Evan quickly points out that he isn’t the only one helping. “I’ve got an e-bike, but other people are pulling carts. People are walking, people are carrying things. Everyone is doing what they can.” But there’s no doubt that his ability to carry more gear at higher speeds and make hundreds of round-trip journeys so far in and out of the stricken neighborhood has helped impact countless lives.

“This is all volunteers here. They’re just taking it upon themselves to get people where they need to go. I think there’s an umbrella company coming in, taking over tomorrow, but until they get here, people are just taking care of people, which is what you’ve got to do.”

E-bikes proving their worth in emergencies

While many people consider electric bicycles just another form of recreation, they’ve proven to be potent transportation alternatives after natural disasters worldwide.

Not only do their small and efficient batteries make performing hundreds of rescue trips like Evans’ possible, but recharging can be done simply and easily with a solar panel when electricity is out after a disaster. And when gas stations are out of fuel (or simply can’t pump it with the power grid down), e-bikes can keep running while gasoline-powered motorcycles or ATVs run dry.

Electric bicycle batteries have also proven to be a handy source of emergency power after hurricanes and other disasters, often helping owners keep their phones charged up for days to remain in contact with family or rescue services.

While most hope to never need theirs for emergency purposes, electric bicycles have proven their worth in countless disaster scenarios, adding benefits far beyond just alternative transportation, recreation, or fitness riding.

E-bikes can be kept running nearly indefinitely after natural disasters with access to solar recharging equipment

Image credits: CBS Austin (screenshots), used under fair use

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Business

New electric car grants of up to £3,750 aims to drive sales

Published

4 hours ago

July 15, 2025

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New electric car grants of up to £3,750 aims to drive sales

The taxpayer is to help drive the switch to non-polluting vehicles through a new grant of up to £3,750, but some of the cheapest electric cars are to be excluded.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said a £650m fund was being made available for the Electric Car Grant, which is due to get into gear from Wednesday.

Users of the scheme – the first of its kind since the last Conservative government scrapped grants for new electric vehicles three years ago – will be able to secure discounts based on the “sustainability” of the car.

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It will apply only to vehicles with a list price of £37,000 or below – with only the greenest models eligible for the highest grant.

Buyers of so-called ‘Band two’ vehicles can receive up to £1,500.

The qualification criteria includes a recognition of a vehicle’s carbon footprint from manufacture to showroom so UK-produced EVs, costing less than £37,000, would be expected to qualify for the top grant.

It is understood that Chinese-produced EVs – often the cheapest in the market – would not.

DfT said 33 new electric car models were currently available for less than £30,000.

The government has been encouraged to act as sales of new electric vehicles are struggling to keep pace with what is needed to meet emissions targets.

Challenges include the high prices for electric cars when compared to conventionally powered models.

At the same time, consumer and business budgets have been squeezed since the 2022 cost of living crisis – and households and businesses are continuing to feel the pinch to this day.

Another key concern is the state of the public charging network.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “This EV grant will not only allow people to keep more of their hard-earned money – it’ll help our automotive sector seize one of the biggest opportunities of the 21st century.

“And with over 82,000 public charge points now available across the UK, we’ve built the infrastructure families need to make the switch with confidence.”

The Government has pledged to ban the sale of new fully petrol or diesel cars and vans from 2030 but has allowed non-plug in hybrid sales to continue until 2025.

It is hoped the grants will enable the industry to meet and even exceed the current zero emission vehicle mandate.

Under the rules, at least 28% of new cars sold by each manufacturer in the UK this year must be zero emission.

The figure stood at 21.6% during the first half of the year.

The car industry has long complained that it has had to foot a multi-billion pound bill to woo buyers for electric cars through “unsustainable” discounting.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said the grants sent a “clear signal to consumers that now is the time to switch”.

He went on: “Rapid deployment and availability of this grant over the next few years will help provide the momentum that is essential to take the EV market from just one in four today, to four in five by the end of the decade.”

But the Conservatives questioned whether taxpayers should be footing the bill.

Shadow transport secretary Gareth Bacon said: “Last week, the Office for Budget Responsibility made clear the transition to EVs comes at a cost, and this scheme only adds to it.

“Make no mistake: more tax rises are coming in the autumn.”