How Davis Bacon Projects Are A Government Albatross

By Frank Collins


There has been much debate that has accompanied the supposed making more enlightened laws for labor. There was one law that tried to address the problem of wages in 1931, which was for compensation for work done for government. The primary concern was for companies to provide their workers with the same industry average pay.

The Housing and Urban Development department is still currently using the bill for its projects. Many companies in the industry really try to deal in Davis Bacon projects because of the way they negatively impact their balance sheets. Other issues apply to the controversies surrounding the act, one of which how compensation should be given.

Under the Related Acts, government is supposed to be responsible for the financial grants, loans and other forms of assistance. But these have become slow in coming and tied up with red tape, so that contractors with government housing contracts are not able to fully utilize their rights for these. Serving Related Acts provisions promptly was meant to be a consideration for construction companies.

Families that could not afford private housing often have recourse to the low income projects made under the bill. But then, the participating companies have often made substandard installations to save on costs to fulfill their need to pay their workers well. However, their workers still have much the same problems of making ends meet today compared to earlier times.

Government guarantees or underwrites a failed system of providing affordable housing to income earners in the lower brackets. Today, a lot of people who are beneficiaries of this system still take the housing units that are offered. The choice is to spend more on much better built apartments or homes.

The country has not been known to be strong in delivering social systems that address basic needs for citizens. The Davis Bacon act has become a very heavy load for administrations that need to progress from it. For times that are touted to more progressive, it is an archaic law that has made government unpopular and top heavy.

The HUD is something that many people need, but it does not really fulfill its mission because of the act. The substandard houses are a bane that poorer people accept because they have no alternatives. When leaks, repairs and improvements need to be done, they will have to make do with what they can afford.

The GAO in 1979 made a report in relation to the bill and how it is no longer serviceable and needs to be repealed. There are several stated causes, but all of these were based on critical analysis of services. It did not mention how the act has become a way to discriminate against African Americans.

States across the country have also passed their own Little Davis Bacon laws. But then, these are more politically colored decisions that are constantly being blocked any which way through litigious legislation. Ultimately, the government and legislature need to come up to terms for a better kind of law to take effect.




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