Why Prevailing Wage Laws Must Be Abolished

Prevailing wage laws, often sold as a boon for workers, are a bureaucratic boondoggle that fleece taxpayers, stifle small businesses, and deliver little real benefit to laborers. Far from promoting fairness, these laws inflate costs, distort markets, and prioritize paperwork over progress. They should be outlawed entirely.

First, the term "prevailing wage" is a misnomer. It’s not the standard wage workers earn in a given area, as the word "prevailing" suggests, but often a higher rate set by government fiat. This artificial benchmark doesn’t reflect market realities—it overrides them. By mandating above-market wages, these laws drive up the cost of public projects, siphoning money from taxpayers who could otherwise see their dollars fund more roads, schools, or bridges.

Second, the true cost of prevailing wage laws isn’t just in the wages themselves—it’s in the crushing administrative burden they impose. Compliance can devour as much as half the allocated labor cost in paperwork, record-keeping, and certifications. Businesses must hire staff or consultants to navigate this red tape, ensuring every form is filled and every box checked. This isn’t work that builds infrastructure or improves communities; it’s busywork that enriches bureaucrats and bean-counters. Workers see little of this added cost in their paychecks, as much of it is burned on proving compliance rather than rewarding labor. Taxpayers, meanwhile, foot the bill for this inefficiency, getting less value for every dollar spent.

Government’s sole duty in procurement is to secure goods and services at the best possible price. Anything else is theft from the public purse. Prevailing wage laws violate this principle by inflating costs and rigging the game against efficiency. They’re not about protecting workers—they’re about protecting a system that thrives on complexity and control.

Worst of all, prevailing wage laws disproportionately harm small, local, and family-owned businesses. These firms, often the backbone of communities, lack the resources to employ full-time compliance officers or game the bidding process. Large corporations, with their armies of accountants and lobbyists, revel in this environment. They can absorb the costs, navigate the rules, and even exploit them to outbid smaller competitors. The result is a bidding process that tilts toward higher costs, fewer players, and less innovation—all paid for by the public.

The solution is simple: abolish prevailing wage laws. Let markets determine wages, let businesses focus on building rather than filing, and let taxpayers keep more of their money. This isn’t mean abandoning fairness—it means embracing it by ensuring public funds are spent on actual work, not bureaucratic bloat. Small businesses would thrive, workers would compete on merit, and taxpayers would get the infrastructure they deserve. Prevailing wage laws aren’t just bad policy—they’re a betrayal of the public’s trust. It’s time to end them.

Curtis Neil June 21^st, 2025 with Grok