[Superman]

Mark, I worked for my state's labor department, in the section that regulates wages. It was in that capacity that I became aware of the conservative think tank so-called "research" institutes. One of the moderators here worked for the CATO Institute. Reminds me of the CEO that's interviewing candidates for the CFO position. The question was "What is two plus two?" The successful candidate answered "What do you want it to be?"

I still laugh at my memory of the Evergree Freedom Foundation's conclusions regarding the impact of prevailing wage requirements here. They said it increased the cost of public works construction by fifty percent. If these guys talked to any engineer, they must have forgotten the discussion. Direct wage costs (including benefits) never exceed 30% of the cost of construction. Rule of thumb is 20%. So, if the workers worked for free, construction costs would fall by perhaps as much as 30%. And of course, if you use free construction labor, there might be some other costs popping up. I'm giggling as I write this. That study was SOOOOOOO laughable. It was however, written with some very professional-sounding sentences. Like the ones in the link you provided.