The online definitions of “dictator” that I consulted are unsatisfactory. One says a dictator is someone who rules by non-democratic means. That’s no good because democracies are dictatorial when votes occur on all manner of human interactions that they shouldn’t, thereby destroying rights and freedoms. Another definition says a dictator rules with total authority, often in a cruel way. This is too strong. Again, many rulers, even in democracies, are dictatorial without having total authority.
I go back to the Latin verb root word, dictare, which means to fix, to draw up, to dictate as in writing or speaking. The noun, dictator, is a person who draws up or fixes rules of human interaction. It is accurate to say that many executive orders of presidents are dictates and that the president is the dictator in those instances. The White House pushes for expansion of authority, claiming it’s constitutional. Since it is not constitutional, it’s taking power illegally. That’s called usurpation.
Obama dictates overtime pay. He’s a usurper acting dictatorially. Fox calls this “flexing his executive authority”. They’re wrong. He has no such lawful executive authority.
The White House can count votes, but their rationales can only fool the economically ignorant. A White House person said “We need to fix the system so folks working hard are getting compensated fairly. That’s why we are jump-starting this effort.” The arrogance and ignorance of such a statement is astounding.
Raising overtime pay will cause employers to adopt less efficient labor hiring methods, such as more part-time help. Some employees now getting overtime work will find that it is cut back by their employers because of the added cost. In the long run, employers will shift away from employing people in America. They will shift to labor-saving methods wherever possible to avoid the higher labor costs. The employees supposedly to be helped will be hurt by these shifts.
If the White House Fools think they know when people are working hard and not being paid fairly for their overtime work, what else do they think they know? Chances are they think they know almost everything about anything. If they’re willing to dictate in one sphere, they are more than willing to dictate in another. Once a usurper, always a usurper. Once an arrogant fool, always an arrogant fool.
11:54 am on March 12, 2014
