Masonry Magazine February 1989 Page. 39
Bush essentially believes in free markets. But he is likely to be tougher on horizontal mergers than his predecessor-that is, combinations between direct competitors in a market.
THE DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS WILL BE PUSHING ITS "FAIRNESS" ISSUES early. Many of these, supported by organized labor, were left over from last year. Several stand a good chance of reaching Bush's desk, and some may be signed. A boost in the Federal minimum wage appears likely to be enacted this year. Bush indicated during the campaign that he'd accept a higher minimum wage though he and the Republicans may well try to scale back the amount of rise. The Democrats will push hard and early for a bill mandating parental leave. It would require most employers to provide up to 10 weeks of such a benefit. The bill is anathema to business, but would be a hard law for Bush to veto.
The Senate is prepared to consider $2.5 billion child-care legislation, most of which would benefit low and moderate-income families. Bush will push his plan for a tax credit of up to $1,000. A tough fight is expected on this issue.
ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS EXPECT STRONG SUPPORT FROM BUSH on their issues. The President made several promises for environmental improvements. They include dealing with a global warming caused by industrial pollutants, sharply cutting sulfur-dioxide emissions to trim the damage from acid rain, and setting a national goal of no net losses of wetlands during his tenure.
Bush may propose using market incentives to get a cleaner environment. He might ask that fees by paid by polluters.
LOOK FOR PRESIDENT BUSH TO BACK SOME MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS in education. He promises to encourage merit schools-specialized schools for the bright. And he is expected to increase funding for additional head-start programs. Bush will seriously push a proposal to make it easier to save for college. He will offer a tax-free savings bond plan to meet rocketing college costs.
He wants to fulfill a promise made during the fall election campaign to go down in history as the "education President."
BANKS CAN LOOK TO RECEIVE BROAD NEW POWERS from the Federal Reserve, now that Congress failed to pass an expansion of bank security underwriting. The banking-powers legislation was stymied in both the House and the Senate. The Senate refused to bring the bill to a vote after delay was threatened. A jurisdictional fight between two committees killed the bill in the House. In truth, few of the most-affected industry groups wanted a bill in the end. Most bankers turned from it after consumer-services provisions were added. The securities industry liked one version, but it had no chance of passage.
A FEDERAL COURT SETS LIMITS on the National Labor Relations Board, ruling that the NLRB can't look into labor violations without a complaint. NLRB's attempt to broaden its powers was turned back by the appeals court. The Congress withheld from NLRB power to police the workplace on its own. It can investigate unfair labor practices only after filing of a complaint. The NLRB contends it has a broad mandate to follow up leads of wrongdoing once a complaint has been made. That's exactly what happened in this case. Board investigators dismissed a union complaint about a firing of a worker. But they found other violations of the labor laws in the course of inquiry.
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MASONRY JANUARY/FEBRUARY, 1989 39