Michigan & Labor Unions, Myth Versus Reality

The most fundamental fact about labor unions is that they do not create any wealth. They are one of a growing number of institutions which specialize in siphoning off wealth created by others, whether they are businesses or the taxpayers.

There are limits to how long unions can siphon off money from businesses without facing serious economic repercussions.

Thomas Sowell, Union Myths, NRO, 8 March 2011

Congrats to Michigan for passing a right to work law. No person should ever be forced to pay union dues as a condition of working in their chosen field. It is nothing more than state sanctioned indentured servitude.

The most oft repeated myth about labor unions are that they created the middle class and that they protect the rights of workers. The reality is that our increasing productivity since the civil war created the middle class, and labor unions today are nothing more than parasites on the economy, in addition to being the piggy bank for the left. Labor union numbers have been dwindling for half a century because of market realities, and without government mandates, they will go extinct. There is a reason GM and Chrysler went bankrupt, while foreign car manufacturers with plants in the U.S. did not. And can you say "Twinkies?"

The great economist Milton Friedman gave a short lecture on unions and their lack of any role in the free market several years ago. It is worth taking a few minutes to watch.



And just as a reminder, the real threat to our nation today comes not from the dying private sector unions that ultimately are governed by markets, but public sector unions that are not so governed. To see the effects, one need look no further than California.

Updates & Related Posts:

Powerline notes that the NYT's coverage of the Michigan right to work law omits some of the relevant facts - such as all the ones that would make the unions look bad.

At NRO, a Hillsdale Prof. gives a short history of Right-To-Work, Unions & Trust-Busting.

From Michelle Malkin, a primer on union thuggery in the age of Obama.

From Nice Deb, the union thug violence in Lansing and the left's effort to cover-up, calling it a "false flag" operation. Many links.

Via Instapundit, Byron Preston at PJM notes that the MSM has been wholly silent on the violence, hanging their hat on the canard that the video taped violence by union thugs was a false flag.

From NRO, a discussion of Michigan's modest right-to-work reform and an analysis of why the unions and the Dems are ready to go to war over it:

Democrats are panicked by the spread of right-to-work reforms because the mandatory deduction of dues from the paychecks of public-sector employees provides the party’s financial lifeblood. There are not that many UAW members or Teamsters in the country, but there are legions of bureaucrats, school workers, and surly DMV clerks — and, through its relationship with the public-sector unions, the Democratic party has a direct pipeline into the pockets of practically each and every one of them. The shrieking in Michigan isn’t about workingmen’s wages, but campaign coffers. That is why there is blood.

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Kos Advocates Manipulating Michigan's Republican Primary In Favor Of Romney

Somehow I doubt that we will see this in a Romney ad anytime soon. Kos is cynically gaming the unusual situation presented by this year's Michigan primary in order to interfere with the Republican nomination for President. McCain has a comfortable 9% lead in the polls in Michigan, and Romney is pulling out all the stops in that state. Michigan is a must win for Romney. The Democratic contest is uncontested with only Hillary Clinton on the ballot. Michigan's is an open primary in which voting is not limited by party affilliation. Thus, Democrats can, if they want, vote in the Republican Primary. And Kos is asking Michigan's Democrats to do precisely that. He is asking for all who read his blog and who know Democrats in Michigan to send them a form e-mail from his site, asking them to vote in their state's Republican primary and to vote for Romney. As Kos puts it:

. . . we want Romney in, because the more Republican candidates we have fighting it out, trashing each other with negative ads and spending tons of money, the better it is for us. We want Mitt to stay in the race, and to do that, we need him to win in Michigan.

Read the posting here. What Kos is actively seeking to accomplish is perfectly legal, but highly unethical - and spare me the arguments that Republicans have done this in other contests in Michigan. There is a lot more at stake in who we choose as President and none of those contests posed this unique set of facts.

What Kos is proposing is fraud in essence if not in fact. While there is no legal basis to challenge Kos - and indeed, doing so would only likely call attention to this idiot, there is one thing that we should demand. Kos is a political columnist for Newsweek. Might I suggest that this would be appropriate grounds to write to Newsweek and its advertisers about their continued employment of this deeply cynical person who is advocating manipulation of democracy in this most important of elections.

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Interesting News – 10 January 2008

The top three Republican candidates appear to be in a tie in Michigan. I wonder if we will see a Republican nominee emerge before the convention. Rick Moran is asking for our support for Fred Thompson.

Some thoughts on McCain that mirror my own here. McCain is hardly a die hard conservative, and his votes on tax cuts and immigration are hard to swallow. But he has vowed to end earmarks and he makes the highest marks on national security, both of which make him an attactive candidate to me at least. In terms of bipartisanship, he is also the real deal – a true thorn for conservatives on many issues, but he would likely appeal to many independents. Bookworm Room wonders if he isin’t trying to position Lieberman as his running mate.

Remember the Lancet Report claiming 655,000 Iraqi dead issued just before the last election? The World Health Organization has released its own, much lower count based on a much larger sampling. Laer has the story here.

I am regularly amazed by the arguments against using picture I.D.’s to combat voter fraud. Of particular note is the argument that it would harm the indigent and prevent them from voting. That seems a canard. Anyone who can make it to a polling booth on election day can just as easilly make it to a government office, show proof of their identity and get an i.d. card. Contrary arguments appear to be an invitation for fraud. More thoughts here.

The People’s Democratic Republic of San Francisco wants to be a gun-free an island unto itself. And in some ways, they are making progress towards that goal.

Al Sharpton smells some race-geld to be had in the inadvertent comment of a TV golf analyst. He has started mining and much to its shame, the Golf Channel has caved.

And from Across the Pond . . .

Europe has discovered democracy. They want to vote and have their say . . . in the U.S. elections.

Democracy does have its limits, however. The governments of Europe want a "mature debate" on the EU, but no vote on the same. And on this most important issue facing Britain since 1939, Labour is being assissted by the Tories. Scandalous. When the Queen took the oath of coronation near half a century ago, it was clearly not the EU Constitution she was binding herself, along with the people of Britain, to uphold. At least some people are attempting to expose the government’s deceit in their own way.

The BBC knows where its bread is buttered – its Brussels, not Westminister. EU Referendum ponders whether this might explain the BBC’s fawning coverage of and deference to the EU. I think that the EU is simply the ultimate leftist construct, and given the bent of the BBC, that explains the affinity.

And the MCB responds to the comments of the Bishop of Rochester that there are no-go areas in Britain. Sheik Yer Mami notes that most Britons seem to disagree with the MCB.

"Millions of children are being raised on prejudice and disinformation. Educated in schools that teach a skewed ideology, they are exposed to a dogma that runs counter to core beliefs shared by many other Western countries. They study from textbooks filled with a doctrine of dissent, which they learn to recite as they prepare to attend many of the better universities in the world. Extracting these children from the jaws of bias could mean the difference between world prosperity and menacing global rifts." This is a quote on education in French and German public schools. Read this exceptional post at DWM.

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