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It may be hard to recall these days when a Democratic White House proudly rejects any guiderails from things such as economics or the Constitution. But back in the Obama years, they considered themselves the wonks. And Obamacare was supposed to be the triumph of the wonks.

As the law aged, its rickety construction became clearer, which is why most of the top-tier Democratic presidential candidates in 2020 ran on replacing Obamacare. Among other problems, the bills pay-fors, the revenue enhancements that would supposedly dampen the law's effects on the deficit and on inflation, all evaporated.

More specifically, Democrats repealed them, showing that they never really intended for the bill to reduce healthcare spending or pay for itself.

The CLASS ACT was a Ted Kennedy brainchild, creating national long-term care insurance. Democrats included it in Obamacare, and it was actually called a revenue raiser supposedly raising $87 billion over 10 years, because people would be paying premiums, and the benefits wouldnt go out the door until mostly after the 10-year window on which budget analyses are done.

It was a horrible idea, of course, and it was scrapped. That imaginary $87 billion in savings, however, was part of what allowed Obama and congressional Democrats to pretend the law was "paid for."

Another abandoned revenue raiser in Obamacare was an absurd and intrusive tax hike. The 1099 provision would have forced freelancers to file 1099s for almost any business transaction, such as buying equipment or hiring a repairman. Congress repealed that awful provision.

Obamacares Medical Device Tax was repealed. I wrote in 2013 about another false pay-for that Obama delayed: Obamacare was supposed to save money by cutting Medicare Advantage spending cuts would have become apparent last autumn. But the law also allowed HHS to run demonstration programs in Medicare, experiments to find new ways to improve care and reduce costs. So, Obama used most of that demonstration program money to postpone Medicare Advantage cuts until after the 2012 elections.

And now, yet another Obamacare pay-for has been gutted by Biden. Check out this video from back in the day:

Got it? By nationalizing the student lending industry, which previously had federal guarantees for private banks, Obamacare would raise $58 billion in revenue over a decade.

Some Democrats promised even more. Part of the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 will make key changes to the student loan industry, Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) said. This measure will save taxpayers nearly $70 billion over 10 years.

So to all the other ways in which this student loan bailout is objectionable, here is another one. It is yet another abandonment of the lies used to sell Obamacare. Of all the bogus claims that it paid for itself, this is only the latest to fall apart.

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Long-term con: Obamacare was paid for by nationalizing student loans - Washington Examiner

Marcus Baram| Capital & Main

Six years after President Obamas ambitious attempt to expand overtime to millions of Americans was vigorously opposed by the business lobby and struck down by a conservative judge in Texas, President Biden is about to take another swing at the issue. And this time, its expected to face even stronger opposition due to a more divisive environment and the growing clout of a powerful new adversary gig economy giants like Uber and DoorDash.

The Department of Labor is intensively working on a proposal it plans to introduce in October. The proposal is widely expected to increase the cap that currently bars overtime for salaries from just above $35,000 to more than $50,000. It may also more narrowly define the exemptions that have long kept employees from earning time and a half enabling many more full-time salaried Americans to qualify for overtime.

The rule was expected to be introduced in April, but was pushed back to this fall while an army of lawyers and statisticians labor to make sure that it can withstand legal challenges from the business community.

It remains unclear how far the administration will go to overhaul the salary cap in general, full-time salaried workers currently have to earn less than $35,568 per year to qualify for overtime and the overtime threshold has not been updated in recent decades to keep pace with the cost of living and skyrocketing health care and housing costs. Sources close to the agency say that the Department of Labor may align the overtime rules closer to Californias standards for its workforce the states threshold for overtime is currently $62,400 for employers with at least 26 employees and $58,240 for employers with fewer than 26 employees and tighten the administrative exemption, which has been used to disqualify low wage fast food managers from earning overtime.

The Labor Departments current effort is heavily influenced by Obamas failed attempt to double the salary cap from $23,000 to almost $47,000, which was overturned by a federal judge in the final weeks of his presidency. At the time, the opposition to the rule was led by Republican lawmakers and industry lobbyists who argued that it would burden small businesses with extra costs.

This time around, the battle could prove to be even more intense, says David Weil, the architect of Obamas overtime overhaul whose nomination by Biden to the same post in his administration was shot down by Republican lawmakers and a few moderate Democrats Arizona Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin. Key to swaying those Democrats votes was the International Franchise Association, whose president, Matt Haller, told Politico that it sent a steady drumbeat of CEOs and franchisees virtually into Manchins, Sinemas and Kellys offices. During Weils confirmation hearings, the gig companies advocacy group App-Based Work Alliance pushed out tweets claiming that Weil supported an outdated workforce model that was rejected by gig workers who love their flexibility and independence.

Weeks after the vote, Haller crowed on the IFAs site that it was the first time since 1989 [that] a federal appointees confirmation was defeated on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

That battle could foreshadow a bitter fight over the overtime proposals. What was different [from the Obama-era debate] was an intense ground game focused on a few wavering Democrats and new players in the business lobby the platform companies like Uber and DoorDash who helped strengthen the existing players who are very much in opposition to anyone who they feel will be more vigilant in enforcing the law, says Weil. It was intense and hostile. It is a tougher environment.

The gig economy giants are fiercely opposed to laws that would extend labor protections like overtime to their armies of workers. DoorDash, Gopuff, Grubhub, HopSkipDrive, Instacart, Lyft, Shipt and Uber launched a new lobbying group called Flex in March. Those same companies collectively spent more than $6 million on lobbying last year with a focus on labor issues. Also in their sights is a long delayed Biden proposal to reverse a Trump era rule that made it easier for employers to classify workers as independent contractors rather than employees which prevents them from qualifying for labor protections like overtime and minimum wage. The Trump rule is estimated to cost workers more than $3.7 billion annually, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

In addition, longtime industry heavyweights like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the International Franchise Association are actively pressuring the agency on the overtime rule and spending money to wield their influence. In the first half of this year, the Chamber spent almost $16 million and the Business Roundtable spent almost $5 million lobbying members of Congress and federal agencies on a wide array of issues, including the overtime rule. In vigorously opposing Weils nomination, the Chamber sent a letter to several lawmakers last January to express its concern that Weil would again seek to unnecessarily raise this salary threshold.

Arrayed on the other side and pushing for expanded overtime protections are EPI, the National Employment Law Project, unions and progressive lawmakers such as Sherrod Brown, Democratic senator from Ohio.

Weil, who now teaches at Brandeis University, is confident that the administration can deliver. Whats key, he says, is to reach out to all the stakeholders from employers and the business lobby to unions and worker advocates throughout the process. You can do it in a way that protects more workers and is legally defensible and economically sustainable.

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US President Joe Biden could expand overtime for millions - Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register

Former president Donald Trump nixed a plan to receive his first dose of Covid-19 vaccine alongside three of his four living predecessors in the months following his recovery from the coronavirus, according to a new book by a pair of ex-White House employees.

Mr Trump and former first lady Melania Trump both received doses of the vaccine in January 2021, just before their time in the White House came to a close.

At the time, the question of whether Mr Trump would allow himself to be seen being injected with the mRNA-based vaccine was a topic of frequent discussion between reporters and what remained of the White Houses press operation.

According to the Daily Mail, ex-Trump aides Brian and Teresa Morganstern discuss the behind-the-scenes talks regarding a potential bipartisan joint vaccination photo opportunity in their new book, Vignettes and Vino.

Mr Morganstern recounted how Mr Trumps communications staff began brainstorming potential scenarios for Mr Trump to get his shot in public as a result of all the press interest in whether he would get the shot or not.

One of the ideas was to have the president invite the former presidents to the White House or to some other site to have all of them receive the vaccine together in a show of unity, said Mr Morganstern, who served as a deputy press secretary and deputy communications director to Mr Trump at the time.

The ex-presidents advisers believed that showing Mr Trump getting a Covid-19 shot could boost public confidence in the vaccines, so Mr Morganstern and another Trump aide attempted to convince Mr Trump of the utility of appearing alongside former presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama.

Mr Morganstern wrote that Mr Trumps response was to contort his face in a way that conveyed, shall we say, a healthy scepticism.

He said: I'll get the shot. Do they want me to get the shot? I'll get the shot, the ex-Trump spokesperson wrote, adding later that the ex-president declined to do so alongside his predecessors.

Regarding an event with the former presidents, he said: Nah, I'm a different kind of a guy, ya know?

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Trump nixed plan to get vaccinated alongside Clinton, Bush and Obama, new book reveals - The Independent

To the editor:

Not sure if its misinformation or intentional disinformation, but to state that Social Secruity Cost of Living Adjustment is purely based on three months is patently absurd.

The fact is the SS COLA is based on the third quarter of this year compared to the third quarter of last year. It is estimated that SS recipients will get between a 9 and 10% increase. To state otherwise is a lie.

People have stated here that the former Republican party is being demonized, yet they themselves have embraced the demon. Seriously, if President Barrack Obama or anyone else had taken hundreds of pages of Top Secret and above documents from the White House would they be OK with it? Cmon. Even with the actual documents back in government possession who knows what has been copied or transmitted to our enemies, after all, associates of the former resident of the White House have been convicted of nefarious associations with Vladimir Putin, and the former resident spoke highly of Putin, even after his invasion of Ukraine.

Bill Darcey

Foxboro

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Imagine the uproar if Obama had taken classified docs - The Sun Chronicle

Mamon Powers, Jr. always envisioned being in business because thats how he grew up, being surrounded by businessmen in the home and the community. But then again by the time he was 15, he was running his own carpentry crew on construction sites.

He always had this can do anything attitude and its something that hes trying to do with his Powers & Sons Construction company. As one fifth of the Lakeside Alliance, the collective managing the construction of the Obama Presidential Center, he wants people of color to realize their potential. Wednesday, the Obama Foundation released its annual workforce report citing the organization is on track to meet its workforce and diversity goals for construction with 52% of contracts already awarded to diverse vendors, with 32% of the workforce coming from the South and West Sides of the city. The City of Chicago requires developers to award 32% of contracts to minority and women-owned businesses, while ensuring 50% of the workforce resides in the City of Chicago, but they do not distinguish between what neighborhoods the workforce will come from within city limits. The Obama Foundation is making major inroads on their diversity hiring ambitions.

Everythings going according to plan, said Michael Strautmanis, Executive Vice President of Civic Engagement at the Obama Foundation. Im not taking my foot off the gas. We have to push because the goal is not to meet our numbers, the goal is to build wealth, and to create a new model for taking people into these good construction careers in a community that has been under invested in for generations. That goal will be complete beyond my lifetime. The numbers are good for accountability purposes ... good for people to understand what were trying to get done. But, Im not here for the numbers. Im here for impact and transformation.

Mamon Powers, Jr., Powers & Sons CEO and Chairman of the Board, in his Gary, Indiana office on Aug. 9, 2022. (Andy Lavalley/for the Chicago Tribune)

Currently, Powers & Sons Construction is one of four Black-owned construction groups managing the construction of the Obama Presidential Center, which broke ground last September and is set to open its doors in 2025. The collective called the Lakeside Alliance is made up of Turner Construction Co., Powers & Sons Construction Co., UJAMAA Construction, Brown & Momen and Safeway Construction Co. Kelly Powers Baria, vice president at Powers & Sons Construction and Mamon Powers, Jr.s daughter recalled that Barack Obama was still president when her father came up with the plan to solidify the odds of Black contractors and Black people building Obamas Center.

Usually what happens is a major (construction) project comes along in the Chicago area, the white contractor goes out to get the job, and he tries bring some Black people along with him in some kind of, in my opinion, inferior role, so they can say they got Black participation, but the white man is in charge, Powers, Jr. said. I thought that its time we change that. I thought we Black people should be in charge. We can build anything. Well select the white partner, most compatible with us, that believes in our vision, our mission, and our goals, to work with us. That way we would have the right team rather than somebody picking us, we wanted to pick somebody. So we put the Presidents Alliance together.

Powers Baria said breaking up the larger construction bids into multiple smaller contracts to ensure smaller and diverse businesses can compete for bids is helping Lakeside Alliance meet its goals. She said the team is responsible for making sure each vendor has regular check-ins to ensure vendors deliver their contracts successfully.

Were doing everything we can to support them and make sure that the job is a success. Thats how were doing it, she said. The Lakeside Alliance, our mission and vision that we set was to use the construction of the Obama Presidential Center to bring about sustainable and transformative change in our industry. And the only way to get what youve never had is being intentional, intentional about offering opportunities in ways that havent been offered before. Thats whats most important. Weve been working together for five years now. We have to remind ourselves not to lose focus. Its how you go about building the building and who gets opportunities and benefits from it.

Sharika Harris, 32, is one person benefiting from working on the Obama Presidential Center. Shes a plumbing apprentice with four years in the trades already. Her company is helping set up the centers garage. Shes been working with the nonprofit Chicago Women in Trades to help her prepare for her journeymens test. The North Lawndale resident said she went looking for a career in the trades after custodial work became boring. Now, when the mom tells people shes working on the center, folks get excited.

Its been really cool, she said. I like working in that diverse setting because ... Ive never worked in a setting like that. Its not my first big project but Ive never seen as many people that look like me on the job site. So that makes it more comfortable to work.

Lakeside Alliance Assistant Superintendent Ashful Williams stands on-site as construction continues on the Obama Presidential Center on Aug. 22, 2022 in Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

In 2021, the Obama Foundation committed $850,000 to a partnership with local workforce development organizations, including Hire 360, Chicago Women In Trades, IBEW-NECA Technical Institute, Revolution Workshop, and St. Pauls Community Development Ministries, to train 400 new apprentices from the south and west sides. The Foundation is using the model to recruit and train the workforce that will build the presidential center, and to create more opportunities in construction for those same residents to work on projects across the city. According to the workforce report 158 candidates have already been placed in jobs around the city.

Sharon Latson-Flemister, Chicago Women in Trades director of marketing and communications and program director of We Can Build It, the group of local workforce development organizations, said her group is sending out apprentices and journeywomen to share their stories in the trades to recruit more female workers, that includes going into high schools to talk to students before graduation. (Powers Baria mentioned hosting a summer event where site workers helped student put together picnic tables that will be used at the center, a hands-on opportunity and exposure to the trades.) Free trades classes run anywhere from 10 to 12 weeks. The classes prepare one to test and get into apprenticeship programs, which can run anywhere from two to five years, Latson-Flemister said.

During that apprenticeship training, remember youre earning while youre learning, and each year your pay is going up as you learn your craft until you complete your apprenticeship program, she said.

The Obama Foundations partners have a barrier reduction fund to pay expenses like apprenticeship fees, late union dues and tools for potential workers. Groups like Chicago Women in Trades also provide supportive services like mental health workshops to eliminate more barriers for community residents to get into these types of careers.

That was a commitment from the Obama Presidential Center, Latson-Flemister said. That we would assertively work with our community residents to make sure that were not just getting them on that site, which is absolutely wonderful, but were actually helping them to build a career in the trades because once this historic, incredible building is built, theyve got to go out there and still work.

C-Strategies Communications Associate Elena Wallace tours the Obama Presidential Center construction site with Lakeside Alliance Assistant Superintendent Ashful Williams on Aug. 22, 2022. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

Powers Baria said Lakeside has a six-member team of folks working on diversity, equity and inclusion; she is co-leader. She said its someones responsibility to make sure when a contractor is getting ready to leave the site, they will have another job opportunity to walk into and those entering the presidential center will stay on track as the project goes on.

Its not, going to happen without intense focus, she said.

Folks in the community are, I think rightfully skeptical of large construction projects, Strautmanis said. But what I want people to do is not just continue a narrative, because that is the way the narrative has been in the past. One of the things that concerned me is that theres a narrative out there: You know that this aint for us. That narrative keeps people from showing up ... now its 2022, were rolling. Contracts are out. And if you were on the sidelines then for some reason, were doing our own community a disservice. I want people to check our work, check our progress, talk to people who are working there to see whats really going on. But approach this with a level of hope that will make people say, you know, maybe this time will be different.

Different is what the 74-year-old CEO and chairman of the board of Powers & Sons Construction has been about his entire career. By the time Powers was a preteen, he was working for his father, Mamon Powers, Sr. a man who was building homes and churches in Mississippi in 30s and 40s for his father. Juniors income went from 50 cents a week to 50 cents a day sweeping for him and all the carpenters. By 13, Powers learned how to drive nails with a hammer. It was around this time, that Powers, Sr. showed junior how to lay out the foundation of a garage. His fathers instructions on measuring and square corners revealed the Pythagorean theorem.

I learned that in the 8th grade, he said. That was when construction really got interesting to me because I could relate it to school and relate it to whats going on in the field. In the summers, I worked with other young men who worked with their fathers clearing land ... they did the painting, concrete work. I saw this young man doing electrical work. I always saw Black men doing things and knew that I could do anything if I applied myself properly.

Construction continues at the site of the Obama Presidential Center on Aug. 22, 2022. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

When Powers decided that he wanted to go to school to become an engineer, his father took him around engineers. He would go to Purdue University to achieve that goal (his daughter Kelly followed in his footsteps) Real estate would become a mainstay in Mamon Powers, Jr.s life from being a real estate broker to running a firm that builds commercial and industrial, and other types of general contracting and construction management projects within Illinois and Indiana.

Now with his children Kelly and Mamon Powers, III running the family business Mamon Powers, Jr. is just having fun seeing the success.

It makes me feel good that were able to provide employment for you ... thats what were about. Send your kids to college. Thats what I want to do. Because everybody doesnt want to run a business, but were making those opportunities available for people who want to really do something, he said.

Powers Baria said her grandfather had a saying: Lift as you climb. Its a theme for her dad and the family business. Lifting people, lifting businesses up as Powers & Sons grew and as you went through your career, she said.

Folks in the community are, I think rightfully skeptical of large construction projects, Strautmanis said. I want people to check our work, check our progress, talk to people who are working there to see whats really going on. But approach this with a level of hope that will make people say, you know, maybe this time will be different.

drockett@chicagotribune.com

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Obama Foundation releases hiring report on the Obama Center - Chicago Tribune