By Curtis Dubay, Senior Economist, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
When the Biden Administration or others suggest inflation is happening because businesses are price gouging, they are ignoring the hard and fast laws of supply and demand in a free enterprise system as well as how federal policies impact the economy.
Prices are rising for a variety of reasons, including the supply chain bottlenecks, workforce shortages, and excessive fiscal stimulus. Supply chain issues and the worker shortage are raising input costs for businesses. At the same time, fiscal stimulus from the various COVID packages has left Americans sitting on nearly $3 trillion of excess savings over and above the pre-COVID baseline, which is fueling increased demand.
More money chasing fewer goods is always a recipe for inflation.
Policymakers could make matters even worse by, for example, enacting the so-called “Build Back Better” bill. Over the next year plus, the reconciliation bill will increase inflationary pressures because of its deficit financed spending, transfer payments and tax cuts.
Click here to read more.
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Hibu joins 417 members of The Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce to receive benefits and support the Chamber’s efforts to enhance the region.
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United Way of Columbia and Montour Counties to hold Recovery Resources Event
Being held at the Community Giving Foundation on W. Front Street in Berwick, this educational event will offer individuals and families experiencing substance use disorder access to free assessments, childcare resources, counseling, and more.
The event will be held Thursday. December 9th from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Click here for more details
Last week, the PA Department of Labor & Industry announced that it was refusing a request from statewide business organizations to extend the public comment period on a proposed rule that would overhaul the regulations governing tipped employees and clarifies how the base hourly rate for overtime of salaried employees is calculated.
In a letter to state officials, business leaders noted that the 30-day public comment period, which was announced in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on Nov. 20, does not allow enough time for employers to fully understand the proposal and provide comment.
The department’s proposed regulation covers five primary areas for tipped workers, including:
- Increasing by 450 percent the amount of tips an employee must receive monthly to qualify as a “tipped employee” from $30 to $135 before an employer can reduce an employee’s hourly pay from $7.25 per hour to $2.83 per hour.
- Codification of a recent federal regulation requiring that an employee spends at least 80 percent of their time on duties that directly generate tips, commonly known as the 80/20 rule.
- Allowing for tip pooling among tipped employees under certain circumstances.
- A prohibition on employers deducting credit card transaction charges from an employee’s tip left on a credit card.
- A requirement for employers to educate patrons on the employer’s use of service charges, clarifying that service charges are not gratuities for tipped employees.
The last day to submit comments is Dec. 20, 2021. Comments can be emailed to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission at irrc@irrc.state.pa.us. Reference Department of Labor and Industry, Regulation #12-114: Minimum Wage, IRRC Number 3322.
Click here for more details.
Less than half of Americans polled who lost their job during the pandemic and remain unemployed say they are actively and consistently looking for work, with one in five reporting that they are not looking for work at all, according to a new poll released last week by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Here are some top findings from the poll:
- More than half (53%) of Americans who became unemployed during the pandemic say they are only somewhat active, or not very active at all, in looking for work.
- Nearly two-thirds (65%) don’t expect to be back working before the new year, and 8% say they never plan to return to work.
- More than one in ten (13%) have left multiple jobs during the pandemic.
- Among those currently unemployed who have held multiple jobs since April 2020, 57% held their most recent position for three months or less.
- Almost half said they have been using pandemic incentives or stimulus payments, or tapping into savings and investments, to get by.
- A third (32%) want and expect to switch industries.
- A hiring bonus of $1,000 remains the top incentive most apt to bring unemployed workers back.
Pennsylvania’s labor force in October of this year was 3.9% lower compared to the same month in 2019 and the number of people working in non-farm jobs was down 5.2% compared to 2019.
Click here for the full report including the state data.
IMC, the Innovative Manufacturers’ Center, helps Central Pennsylvania manufacturers tap into the most effective regional, state, and national resources in order to innovate, grow and prosper.
For over 30 years, IMC has helped over 600 Pennsylvania companies become more innovative, productive, and profitable. As one of the seven Industrial Resource Centers in Pennsylvania, IMC is an affiliate of the U.S. Department of Commerce, NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and is supported through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.
IMC’s service area includes 12 counties in the heart of the Commonwealth including Montour, Lycoming, Northumberland, Snyder, Clinton, and Mifflin Counties.
You can visit IMC and all they have to offer on its website Central Pennsylvania Manufacturing Assistance | IMC (imcpa.com)
IMC joins 417 members of The Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce to receive benefits and support the Chamber’s efforts to enhance the region.
From the PA Chamber of Business and Industry
Over the past couple of weeks, the PA Chamber of Business and Industry has voiced opposition to bills that would prohibit employers from enforcing health and safety policies, including vaccine requirements.
In mid-November, the House Health Committee considered H.B. 2013, a proposed Constitutional amendment that would have the effect of prohibiting employers from enforcing standard and critically important workplace health and safety policies. The bill would permit an individual to refuse any medical procedure, treatment, injection, vaccine or prophylactic and may not be questioned or interfered with in any manner.
While discussion among Committee members focused on vaccine mandates, the impact of this proposed Constitutional amendment goes much further and could compromise workplace health and safety measures.
On Nov. 8, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee considered S.B. 471, to prohibit mandatory vaccination of Pennsylvania residents by the Commonwealth, political subdivisions or as a condition of employment. The bill was amended in committee to focus exclusively on the COVID-19 vaccination.
The PA Chamber opposes the measure because employers could be forced to scrap policies aimed at protecting employees and customers and could find themselves caught between conflicting state and federal laws. Click here to read the PA Chamber’s memo of opposition to S.B. 471 that was sent to the Senate Health and Human Service Committee.
This virtual workshop will help individuals understand the importance of identity differences and conflict management in communication. The free program is part of the ongoing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training for the community through the United Way of Columbia and Montour Counties. It was originally scheduled for Oct. 28th and was rescheduled to Dec. 2nd at 7:00 p.m.
Conversations among people who share different personal identifications and ideologies can be a challenging enterprise. This presentation will explore some of the reasons for those challenges and will focus on communicative approaches, particularly conflict management strategies, for navigating difficult dialogues in our personal relationships.
A project to replace and widen the Interstate 80 Nescopeck Creek Bridges in lower Luzerne County is proposed to begin in 2023. To help pay for this work, PennDOT is planning to implement a toll on the West bound lanes of the bridge. An in-person public meeting to discuss the project is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 7 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Nescopeck Social Hall, 510 Zenith Rd., Nescopeck.
An on-demand virtual public meeting for the project is also available through Dec. 15, clicking the virtual public meeting link.
This bridge replacement project is one of nine along Pennsylvania interstates where PennDOT plans to implement tolling. The Public Private Partnership (P3) law adopted in 2012 authorized the establishment of such partnerships to assist in funding road and bridge repairs across the Commonwealth. Senate Bill 382 would void these current plans and prescribe a more open and transparent process for P3 projects. Specifically, a detailed analysis would have to be developed prior to any consideration by the P3 board, and a 30-day public comment period would be held following publication of the project in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Additionally, any P3 project that includes a user fee would require legislative approval. The House passed the bill in November, and it is awaiting further consideration in the Senate.