Montana labor news., 1937-07-01

ing a political football OF Social Sc
curity.
Old Age Benefits
Workers are now being taxed n
per cent on their wages to build up
a reserve fund for the paying of old
age benefits. This law is new, novel
and somewhat unsatisfactory, as it
builds for the future and leaves the
present aged subject to the ancient
pauper poor laws. The maximum
amount that will be paid under the
present lag will be $500 a month,
but that is in the future. To get the
$685. 90 old age benefit a person now
% years of age must earn $250.00 a
month regularly for the next 43
years before he would be able to
draw the monthly maximum of
1884,
On the other hand a Supreme
Court Justice retires this month and
will receive an old age pension of
$20,0 900 a year, yet he has not paid
one red cent into any old age PEN
sion fund. This honorarium, paid
out of the national treasury to a re-
tired Supreme Court Justice, is in
no danger of being declared uncon-
stitutional by the courts. There ap-
pears to be some difference between
a Justice and a worn out wage work
er.
Unemployment Insurance
The last session of the legislature
enacted an unemployment insurance
law in conformity with the national
act. The act is very unsatisfactory,
yet is as good as the best of any
state in the nation. Payment to I'M
employed will not commence before
July, 1889. The minimum payment
to the unemployed will be seven
dollars a week and the maximum
amount will be fifteen dollars a
week, in all cases for a period not to
exceed sixteen weeks in any one
year; provided he has within the
first three out of the last four COM
pleted calendar quarters immediate
ly preceding the first day of the
benefit year earned wages for en-
ployment by employers equal to not
less than sixteen times his weekly
benefit amount.
The law cannot take care of I'M
employment adequately; it is actu-
arily and economically unsound.
Even at the low amount of compen-
sation allowed the unemployed the
compensation fund will be insolvent
by 1941, if we have the number of
unemployed in 1899 Or 1910 We had
in Montana in 1884.
While the unemployment compen-
sation bill was before the legislature
it received little consideration except
by a few committee members. When
the bill was considered in the house
only sixty-four minutes were con-
sumed in the committee of the whole,
and fifteen minutes in the senate
committee of the whole, this includ-
ing the time it took to read the bill.
TIL truth is few members of the
house or senate today understand
little of unemployment insurance.
Under the present act employers
are taxed on their payroll. There
fore the more wages paid the higher
the taxes the employer must pay.
Likewise if the employer adds to his
working force his taxes are in
creased. This in times of slackness
in work or during a depression in
spires employers to reduce their
working force and reduce wages,
thereby reducing the taxes of the
employer. This will increase unem-
ployment and reduce the purchasing
power of the workers, which in turn
will again increase unemployment.
All members of organized labor
should give the principles of I'M
employment insurance a thorough
study, so that we may intelligently
work for amendments to the present
insurance act. The principal amend
ment should be to so amend the ma
tional act as to compel unemploy-
ment insurance to be administered
by the federal government direct in
stead of by the states.
Last year the governors Of the
various states which had no unem-
ployment insurance law were sub
jected to such pressure by the ma
tional administrators in Washington
of the federal unemployment com
pensation act to call a special session
of the legislature to enact an un-
employment insurance law before
December 81, 1886, SO that the state
might get ninety per cent of the
money that the federal government
would collect on the employers pay
rolls in the state for the year 1886
The states that held a special session
Of the legislature and enacted al
unemployment insurance law hac
the act approved by the Social Sc.
curity Board at Washington, anc
thereby got a refund on last year,
pay roll taxes. However, these state: