assignment 2 s

Public Administration

Name

Institution

White House Issue

The American economy has suffered quite a blow since the recession of 2008. As a result, the American businesses and workers keep struggling through the slow economic recovery. Some economists even argue that this has been the slowest form of economic recovery to be observed since the World War II. It has been approximated that the United States has lost almost 300,000 jobs as the work force keep son plummeting to lows that have not been observed since the 1970s (House, 2017). The recession has resulted in the decline of the middle class and doubling of the national debt. To restore America to its former economic glory, President Trump has devised a bold plan that is aimed at creating 25 million new jobs and steer the country back to a 4 per cent annual economic growth. The 45th American President is a life-long business man and job creator. He knows the importance of getting Washington out of America’s small businesses, workers, and entrepreneurs.

The White House plan on job creation and improving the economy will start with a pro-growth tax reform that will help Americans keep more of their hard-earned money. As a result, there will be lower rates for workers in every tax bracket that will lead to the reduction of the country’s corporate tax. The White House, under the leadership of former President Barack Obama, made some major milestones in the labor market. As at November 2016, the country added approximately 15 million opportunities since 2010 (Furman, 2016). Private employment is on a steady rise in the US. The strengthening US labor market keeps drawing people into the labor force. This has offset the downward pressure on employment.

Public Policy

Public administration, including the new and traditional approaches, has formed the public policy regarding employment in the US labor market. These approaches take into consideration the functional, structural and process perspectives in implementing the key goals of the federal government and private sector in line with labor requirements (House, 2017). Public policy has implemented strategies geared towards increasing employment opportunities and enhancing competitive wages. The aim of the public policies is to promote best practices; employment training, school-to-work transition, and ensuring service systems enhancements such as adoption are in place. The requirements that are related to enhancing competitiveness in employment include opportunities for education such as post-secondary, college, and vocational training. These are aimed at gaining skills and knowledge that will allow individuals to get better jobs.

Public policy also ensures that there is ongoing planning so as to promote career development and job advancement. The American public administration has also put measures in place, through the public policy to ensure that workers in various wage groups earn fair and reasonable benefits. Workers should also be able to work and increase their earnings without losing their eligibility for needed public benefits (Furman, 2016). They should also have the freedom to explore various career directions over time and retire at an appropriate time. Public policy also ensures that individuals have opportunities for business ownership and self-employment. The US labor laws have set the duties and rights for labor unions; employees aim to change the inequality of bargaining power between employers and employees. Over the past century, the federal law created a series of social and economic rights that encouraged state public policies to go an extra mile in ensuring employees are fairly treated.

Policy Modification

In 1963, Congress passed the Equal Pay Act into law. This act prohibited gender-based wage discrimination in any work setting. However, wages are based on seniority, performance, working conditions and skills required for the job. However, according to statistics from the US Bureau of Labor, women earn less than their male counterparts (Mokdad, 2013). Is the wage disparity between men and women as a result of discrimination, workplace dynamics or legitimate pay practices? Equal employment advocates are proposing a comparable pay system that is aimed at correcting gender-based pay differences. However, the Congress rejected this idea because it would result in same pay for different jobs.

Workers in the United States are among the hardest working groups across the globe. However, they have the least annual leave. The federal government mandates that every individual has the right to leisure and rest. This also includes the limitation of periodic holidays with pay and working hours. The United States Constitution has specified ten public holidays for individuals working for the government. This has been adopted by many private sector employers and many states. The right to annual leave for private sector employees depended on the collective agreements and stipulated individual employment contracts (Furman, 2016).

The United States government has ensured that employees’ pension benefits are protected. This assurance is provided by the Pension Guarantee Corporation. Pension plans are employee benefit plans that have been established to provide retirement income (Mokdad, 2013). There are several retirement plans provided for by the federal government. The employee benefits security administration is responsible for enforcing and administering the provisions of this act. The Pension Benefits Guaranty Corporation answers questions on various retirement plans.

The Constitution

The Congress has provided the federal government with employment ideas that can fit squarely within the various fiscal bounds in Washington. Economists have urged the Congress to consider temporary financing to various states so as to fund work-share benefits. This comes from a wide array of ideological perspectives and sources such as the former economic advisor to the 2008 presidential campaign and Center for Law and Social Policy.

The Constitution of the United States stipulates that employers provide a safe working environment. It also ensures that workers are granted overtime pay and discourages unhealthy working hours. However, there is no guaranteed right to the occupational pension in addition to the federally guaranteed social security. The employee security act requires that employers agree to health plans, pensions and other benefits based on employees’ performance (Kellough, 2013). The national labor relations act also provides that most employees organize labor unions without practicing unfair labor practices. The right to equal employment opportunities in the US is in at least six major constitutional statutes. Legislation has banned discrimination that is unrelated to individuals’ abilities to do their jobs based on race, sex, ethnicity, age, disability and national origin.

References

Furman, J. (2016, December 2). Retrieved from The White House, President Brarack Obama: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2016/12/02/employment-situation-november

House, W. (2017, January). The White House, President Donald J Trump. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/bringing-back-jobs-and-growth

Kellough, J. (2013). The reinvention of public personnel administration: An analysis of the diffusion of personnel management reforms in the states. Public administration review, 85.

Mokdad, A. (2013). Labour market and social protection reforms in international perspective: parallel or converging tracks? Public Administration Review, 56.