Yesterday the Senate passed two bills designed to encourage businesses to hire veterans. The bills had broad-based bi-partisan support. The bills are the Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior Tax Credits, that will give businesses up to $9,600 for hiring veterans who are out of work or who have service-related disabilities.
I support these bills. However, it is incorrect to call these bills "jobs bills," they are "veteran preference bills." These bills will not put a single additional person back to work. The bills will cause an employer to give a preference to veterans over non-veterans. I don't have a problem with that; I support it. Veterans who served their country deserve preference. However, anytime you give preference to one group, whether it is in college admissions or hiring of firemen, anyone who is not in the preferred group is in the group discriminated against. Rather than jobs bills, it would be more accurate to call these two bills, "veteran preference bills" or "discrimination against non-veterans bills."
A veterans preference bill can result in an employer hiring veterans at the expense of non-veterans. Tax credits for hiring just anyone would do little to increase employment. A tax credit would do little to cause an employer to hire an employee he does not need. A tax credit would serve to lower the cost of hiring employees, but unless an employer needs new employees lowering the cost of labor will not appreciably result in new hires.
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"These bills will not put a single additional person back to work."
ReplyDeleteVets aren't people?
Just picking on you.
I think you're looking at it a little wrong. Companies complain that their taxes are too high so they can't hire more people. Now, they can get tax credits when ever they hire a veteran. More vets = more tax credits which SHOULD equal more money to be spent on wage.
Though that in itself is wishful thinking.