Sunday, October 21, 2012

More Government Stupidity

From the Las Vegas Sun: The work card, adopted in a previous era, remains a powerful tool of the Las Vegas City Council to deny people the right to be employed in certain jobs.
Such power was on full display at Wednesday’s City Council meeting.
But after watching two women weep and grovel, then have their personal lives splayed out — in sometimes embarrassing detail — before the council while begging for a work card, Councilman Bob Beers called it “torture.”
And change may be on the way.
It’s a throwback to the days of the mob. To gain a bit of control over who the casinos hired, local officials decades ago began requiring people who work in the industry to go through criminal background checks.
Over time, local officials and Metro Police expanded the scope of the work card, which creates a revenue stream for the police department.
Getting a work card can cost up to $135.25, including fees for an FBI background check and fingerprinting. Due to the cost of appeals, Clark County has cut back on the types of jobs requiring the cards. In 2009, Metro issued about 10,000 work cards. Fortune-tellers need the work card. Carnies. Ice cream truck operators.
Even convenience store clerks.  http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/oct/21/councilman-indicates-its-time-change-intrusive-pro/
In the Las Vegas Valley, a potential employee needs several different cards: a health card, a card to sell alcohol (even if you don't sell it) and in the City of Las Vegas, a work card.
To get the job, the employee, most of the times, has to put out over $200 to the government, just to get hired at a job that pays just over minimum wage.  Then, if you want to work in the City of Las Vegas, you have to shell out over $100 more.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if the employers had to pay, after all, it is their business that is taking the responsibility and they could do the job much cheaper.
If the employer wants to hire a person, then the government shouldn't stop them, unless they are an illegal alien or in some businesses like child care, education and other jobs that need a background check.  But again, the employer can do it cheaper than what Metro charges.
But get rid of the government interference and let people work.

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