Low wages test loyalty to Singapore ruling party

The halting economic recovery in the years since the Great Recession has created hardships for many American workers, but people in some areas have had it much worse than others. While the employment conditions in some states are relatively strong, others continue to feel the effects of low wages, high inflation, unemployment and rising taxes.

Hundreds of employees from stores such as McDonald’s Corp., Macy’s Inc. and Victoria’s Secret walked off the job Wednesday in Chicago for higher wages, three weeks after a similar strike by fast-food workers in New York.

I know that’ll come as an absolute stunner, huh? Not really. Regulation costs money. It costs money for compliance enforcement, which comes from taxes, and it costs companies money for compliance in the form of higher costs – costs that are passed on to consumers. So? So – from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, find out:

Quick post, then off to the airport. This is from Lane Kenworthy:

MONTREAL — Bombardier’s chief executive took a 27% pay cut last year, the transportation giant said Friday. Pierre Beaudoin’s total compensation in U.S. dollars was worth nearly US$6-million, compared with $8.2-million in 2011, according to a regulatory filing ahead of the company’s annual meeting next month. The company founder’s grandson earned $1.4-million in base salary in 2012, compared with $1.29-million a year earlier.

As many as 500 workers from McDonald’s Corp., Wendy’s Co. and Yum! Brands Inc. are set to strike Thursday in New York City as they call for higher wages. “By far, it will be one of the biggest actions that fast-food workers have taken in this country,” Jonathan Westin, executive director of advocacy group and organizer New York Communities for Change, said in an interview before the strike. The employees want $15-an-hour pay and the right to form a union, he said.

It's nice to see the Fed thinking in these terms. This is from a speech by Federal Reserve Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin:

Ghana's President John Atta Mills on Saturday faced a contest from the wife of a long-time ruler, at crucial primaries to pick a candidate for December 2012 polls.Ghana's ruling party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), began an unprecedented presidential primary with Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, the wife of ex-military leader Jerry Rawlings, challenging the incumbent for the nomination.Voting began after a couple of opening speeches from officials of the party, party leaders and the two candidates in the election: Atta Mills and Rawlings.