Some thoughts on unions

by JeffT 343 Replies latest members politics

  • BizzyBee
    BizzyBee
    From the pure laissez-faire capitalistic approach, any unioin that brings wages above "equilibrium" is out of balance.Then the corporation must seek either a more equitable deal from the union or move the work to places where the labor is cheaper.

    There's part of the problem: as long as there is cheaper labor somewhere, greed will seek it out or create it, or demand it. What we are seeing now is greed manipulating class warfare in order to create cheaper labor. That is why we must draw a line in the sand now. This is just the beginning.

    Why should the fellow citizens we count on to educate our children, nurse our sick, care for our elderly, and keep our streets safe have to take a vow of poverty? Because that's where this is headed - the greedy will not be happy as long as there are a few dollars left to grab. This is just the beginning.

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  • beksbks
    beksbks
    Beks, when you were managing your book store did you pay the guy with three kids more than the single guy just because he needed more?

    Noooooooooo, can you link those dots for me?

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  • darthfader
    darthfader

    So, which corporation should "take one for the team" and use local labor at the expense of shareholder profit? The fleeting inventment in that company would rapidly depress it's stock. Im not really arguing in favor of corporate greed here, Im just trying to understand what you all think will happen by increasing local wages beyond global equilibrium?

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  • dinah
    dinah

    Darth, gobal equilibrium includes countries where people can survive for sometimes $5 a day. We can't do that here. I'm not saying every unskilled worker should make $100,000 a year, but something over $16,000 would be nice.

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  • villabolo
    villabolo
    Beks, when you were managing your book store did you pay the guy with three kids more than the single guy just because he needed more?

    Noooooooooo, can you link those dots for me?

    Just a case of bad analogy.

    Villabolo

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  • darthfader
    darthfader

    When companies cannot be "trusted" to act in the best interest of the Environment, they (government) set up laws and processes for environmental protection. The same should be true of the working class. Not really sure what that protection should be -- just my .02 worth.

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  • villabolo
    villabolo

    Darthfader:

    "So, which corporation should "take one for the team" and use local labor at the expense of shareholder profit? The fleeting inventment in that company would rapidly depress it's stock. Im not really arguing in favor of corporate greed here, Im just trying to understand what you all think will happen by increasing local wages beyond global equilibrium?"

    Darth, your arguments can be used in a world where outright slavery is the norm. Same reasoning. Slavery was "necessary" for the economy, which would crash if slaves were actually paid, goodness forbid, wages.

    Villabolo

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  • beksbks
    beksbks

    We had that over a good portion of the last century Darth. That's how we ended up with a newfangled thing called The Middle Class.

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  • darthfader
    darthfader

    So it seems to me that removing the financial incentive to offshore labor from corporations would go a lot farther than forming a union for better wages here. The american people wont be able to benefit once the unions form, if the jobs leave for China or Mexico. Without any constraints, the unions are "toothless"...

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  • beksbks
    beksbks

    It's an all round strategy. No one piece of the big picture is going to fix anything.

    Anyone hear about the Moody report today?

    While the government spending cuts proposed by House Republicans for this fiscal year mean only modest fiscal restraint, this restraint is meaningful. If fully adopted, the cuts would shave almost half a percentage point from real GDP growth in 2011 and another 0.2 percentage point in 2012. There would be almost 400,000 fewer U.S. jobs by the end of 2011 than without the cuts and some 700,000 fewer jobs by the end of 2012. The fallout will extend into next year because it takes time for budget cuts to filter through the economy. In all likelihood, the proposed House cuts would not undermine the current recovery; still, it is not necessary to take the chance

    http://www.economy.com/dismal/article_free.asp?cid=197630&src=bb

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