Obama wants taxpayers to reimburse you if you take a paycut

The final year of an unserious presidency is bound to be a doozy, and President Obama is getting it started off with a bang. You can expect all kinds of proposals that are not designed to pass Congress so much as they are designed to pick fights in the class warfare arena, thus giving Democrats running for office this year something to talk about. In Obama's fantasy world, it's the government's responsibility when you change jobs and your new job pays you less than your previous one. Ever experience that? I did. It was a blow and a setback but it never occurred to me that the taxpayers should make up the difference for me. I figured it was on me to turn things around and get my situation back on track.

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Obama sees it differently:

President Obama will include a new wage insurance scheme in his budget next month that would provide supplemental payments to workers who lose their jobs and end up taking new ones at lower salaries. The wage insurance payments could temporarily cushion the financial blow to displaced middle-class workers, including those hurt by free trade, globalization and technological change. The president’s budget proposal will also include new protections for others who lose their jobs and training plans to help them get back to work quickly. The White House said Saturday that the wage insurance plan would replace half of a worker’s lost wages, up to $10,000 over two years, for those earning up to $50,000 a year. “Displaced workers making less than $50,000 who were with their prior employer for at least three years would be able to leverage these resources to help them get back on their feet and on the way to” new careers, the White House said in a statement.

I want to say it's obvious this isn't going anywhere, but can you really say that with the track record of this Republican Congress? If Obama wants it badly enough to threaten a government shutdown over it, he may very well get it.

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But I don't think he does. He's going to propose a series of wild-eyed policy ideas that are designed to be rejected by Congress so he and other Democrats can accuse Republicans of not wanting to help workers - an accusation I am not all that confident Republican candidates will handle well on the campaign trail, since their consultants are probably telling them to play to media-friendly talking points rather than try to lead on policy. At the same time, there can be little doubt that Obama actually believes this is a good idea, and that he would like nothing more than to actually see it implemented - thus putting the government in control of everyone's income level and ensuring that everyone makes whatever the government decides they should make, rather than what the market determines is the fair value of their labor. Among other problems, that would serve as a disincentive for employers to pay good wages to new employees because they know they can run to the government to make up the difference. It would also serve as a disincentive to the workers to boost their productivity and earn more - for the same reason. I don't want to feed the troll too much by taking this idea too seriously, and let there be no doubt trolling the Republicans is all Obama is dong here. But yes, we do have a president who really thinks this is a good idea, and you can be sure that Hillary and Bernie will soon be voicing their support for this idea - if not demanding it be taken to the next level. So maybe we can at least be smart enough not to elect another president who thinks in the same way.

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