One of the most anti-worker policies in America today is the mandatory 50% overtime pay rule. It sounds pro-worker at first - more pay for more hours - but in practice, it often does the exact opposite.

The Reality Behind Overtime Pay

Here’s the truth: many roles simply aren’t worth 50% more per hour after 40 hours. If someone’s job is to make widgets, and that role generates $X of value per hour, suddenly paying 50% more just because they’ve hit 40 hours doesn’t make sense for the business. I don't mean they just don't like it. I mean it literally doesn't work. It's math.

When there’s a staffing shortage, what businesses actually do is hire more staff with capped hours. Instead of hard workers getting 50% extra pay, their hours actually get cut, opportunities shrink, and everyone loses.

Price Controls Don’t Work - Even for Labor

This is basic economics. Price controls never work, and that includes labor price controls.

There isn’t an infinite “money pit” called "small business businesses" that can just absorb arbitrary costs because well-meaning policymakers think it sounds fair. When overtime pay is forced to 150% of normal rates, small businesses are punished, and hard-working employees get boxed out of earning more. Literally everybody loses. Ignoring economics for ideology is nonsense. You might as well ignore gravity when you think it's not fair.

The Real-World Impact

For workers trying to hustle, this rule is a killer. Instead of being able to work more hours at one job they enjoy - with one boss, one schedule, and one paycheck - they’re forced to juggle multiple part-time jobs to piece together a living. That means schedule conflicts, less loyalty, and more burnout.

It’s not because employers don’t want to give more hours. It’s because the law makes those hours financially impossible.

And the people making these policies? They’re often completely out of touch with what life is actually like for hourly workers or small-business owners. They see everything through theory, not reality.

A Smarter Way Forward

The good news? There’s a simple fix that helps both sides:

1. End the mandatory 50% overtime pay rule. Let businesses and workers agree to reasonable rates for extra hours.
2. Make all overtime income tax-free. Let workers keep every dollar they earn from hard work. This alone should give workers more money into their pockets for the same hours worked.
3. Subsidize labor training and re-training. Help workers move up through skill-building, not bureaucracy.

Win-Win Economics

Under this system, the hardest workers get rewarded. They can have one stable job with all the hours they want - and they keep more of their earnings. Businesses can hire and train more people instead of cutting back. And the government can focus on creating opportunity instead of pretending it can legislate fairness through math that doesn’t add up.

Right now, millions of Americans want the hours. They’re just not worth the 50% premium - and that’s no one’s fault.

It’s time for a policy that rewards effort, not red tape. Everyone wins when work makes sense again.