Breaking my long silence
I know that it's been a while since I made a substantive post. Just haven't had much I felt compelled to discuss that I hadn't discussed to my being tired of it in other fora.
That has changed.
I've been shaken out of my silence by Ohio Senate Bill 5 and similar bills in other states. These bills seek to strip public employee unions (teachers, police, firefighters, etc.) of collective bargaining rights, and then, with that accomplished, the government can strip them of their pensions and their medical benefits. These bills are BAD NEWS for all of us. If you don't believe so, allow me to explain.
1) One argument I've seen and heard from supporters of these bills is "my taxes shouldn't pay for your benefits!" Well, my friends, every employer offers health care to their employees. And no employee who takes health care through their employer pays 100% of their health care, which means that their employer is footing at least a portion of the bill. Usually it's in excess of 50% of the premium. Also, if you save for your retirement through a 401(k) plan offered by your employer, you have the option for, and most people take, an employer match. That means that your employer is paying for a portion of your retirement savings. Now, let's say you work for a trucking company, or a factory, or a Wall Street investment bank. The costs of your benefits to your employers, and those of your co-workers, are passed on to the consumers as part of the "overhead" that determines a company's outlays that have to be compensated for in revenues. Same with your salary. If you don't want your taxes paying for teacher's salaries and pensions, why should teachers have to pay for your salary and benefits through higher prices in the grocery store, or higher interest rates on their credit cards?
2) Collective bargaining is the backbone of union power. It is what allows the union to negotiate a pay scale for employees that is fair and equal. Without collective bargaining an employer would bargain individually with their employees. If your employer liked Jim better than you for some arbitrary reason; gender, race, sexual orientation or even the fact that he wore a brown tie that day and you wore a pink one; they would be able to offer him a higher salary, even if he had less seniority and was less productive than you were. And there would be no union contract in place to say that they couldn't do this. Take this away, and the unions are powerless. In China there are trade unions. They're government-sponsored and have no collective bargaining rights. Look at what wages and benefits are like in China.
3) Some may say "oh, but this is only public employees. I'm not a public employee. It won't affect me!" Look at who is backing these efforts. One of the chief backers is Americans for Prosperity. AfP is an "astroturf" "Tea Party" movement backed by the Koch Brothers, who are multi-billionaires. This group was one of those at the forefront in the anti-HCR efforts last year. The Koch Brothers own Koch Industries, and they have made no bones in the past about their desire to see the entire labour movement in the US completely crushed. So, while it's only the public-employee unions right now, it's the first step down the path to killing all labour unions in the US. Why? Because, as pointed out above, powerless unions allow wages to be depressed. If you like having a car, phone service, broadband internet, cable TV, perhaps a family cell phone plan as well, think about being able to afford those on 1/10 of what you're currently making. And that would still be more than most Chinese workers are paid. So there's no way to get wages to where they're competitive with Chinese wages without gutting the American standard of living. Also, if you suck that much money out of the pockets of the workers, they shock to the consumer system would utterly destroy the US economy. Think the "Great Recession" was bad? Think the "Great Depression" was worse? Combined they would be nothing compared to what would happen if the wage depression the corporate class wants to see were to come to pass.
4) Unions have been responsible for a lot of the labour protections we take for granted. You work in a building free of mold, lighting fixtures with faulty wiring, and fire safety doors at the exits that aren't locked? Thank the unions. You have paid vacation time? Thank the unions. You get overtime pay for hours in excess of 40 hours in a week? Thank a union. Your child can't work until 15 and cannot operate heavy machinery until 18? Thank a union. You can't get fired without just cause? Thank a union. These are things many employees, even in non-union jobs, enjoy. And this doesn't even count the benefits that employers are required to offer like health care and retirement savings.
5) The other reason for corporatists to legislatively eviscerate the unions is to hurt their political opposition. With the Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case, corporations can make unlimited contributions to the campaigns of candidates. Studies have shown that the vast majority of these contributions for the 2010 election cycle went to Republican candidates. Meanwhile, private citizens and labour unions are limited in their ability to contribute. And labour unions overwhelming gave to Democratic candidates for office. In fact, unions were responsible for the largest share of contributions to Democrats. Without unions, Democratic candidates would be sorely underfunded. This would inhibit their ability to get elected. It would effectively turn the United States into a one-party state, not unlike what Egypt has been for the last several decades.
So when you see people in Madison and Columbus saying that they're protesting, that they're rallying, not just for the unions, but for the health and well-being of our democracy, it's not just hyperbole. It's plain and simple the facts. If these bills come to pass and the rights of workers are trashed, wages are depressed to "competitive" levels, and the funding base of one of our major parties is completely eroded, we will no longer live in a vital, healthy democracy. We will live in a nation where the income gap grows ever wider between the top 5% and the lower 95%. We will live in a country where worth is measured by wealth and upward mobility will be a quaint footnote in our history books (assuming that the Republican overlords will even allow it in the texts). And it will be enforced at the barrel of the guns of the world's largest standing army, if necessary. THIS is the New World Order; not a "one-world government", but a government of the wealthy, by the wealthy, for the wealthy. And this is why the rights of some teachers in Madison, Wisconsin to bargain collectively with the government, even in a time of tight government purse strings, is so important that EVERY working American should be supporting them.
That has changed.
I've been shaken out of my silence by Ohio Senate Bill 5 and similar bills in other states. These bills seek to strip public employee unions (teachers, police, firefighters, etc.) of collective bargaining rights, and then, with that accomplished, the government can strip them of their pensions and their medical benefits. These bills are BAD NEWS for all of us. If you don't believe so, allow me to explain.
1) One argument I've seen and heard from supporters of these bills is "my taxes shouldn't pay for your benefits!" Well, my friends, every employer offers health care to their employees. And no employee who takes health care through their employer pays 100% of their health care, which means that their employer is footing at least a portion of the bill. Usually it's in excess of 50% of the premium. Also, if you save for your retirement through a 401(k) plan offered by your employer, you have the option for, and most people take, an employer match. That means that your employer is paying for a portion of your retirement savings. Now, let's say you work for a trucking company, or a factory, or a Wall Street investment bank. The costs of your benefits to your employers, and those of your co-workers, are passed on to the consumers as part of the "overhead" that determines a company's outlays that have to be compensated for in revenues. Same with your salary. If you don't want your taxes paying for teacher's salaries and pensions, why should teachers have to pay for your salary and benefits through higher prices in the grocery store, or higher interest rates on their credit cards?
2) Collective bargaining is the backbone of union power. It is what allows the union to negotiate a pay scale for employees that is fair and equal. Without collective bargaining an employer would bargain individually with their employees. If your employer liked Jim better than you for some arbitrary reason; gender, race, sexual orientation or even the fact that he wore a brown tie that day and you wore a pink one; they would be able to offer him a higher salary, even if he had less seniority and was less productive than you were. And there would be no union contract in place to say that they couldn't do this. Take this away, and the unions are powerless. In China there are trade unions. They're government-sponsored and have no collective bargaining rights. Look at what wages and benefits are like in China.
3) Some may say "oh, but this is only public employees. I'm not a public employee. It won't affect me!" Look at who is backing these efforts. One of the chief backers is Americans for Prosperity. AfP is an "astroturf" "Tea Party" movement backed by the Koch Brothers, who are multi-billionaires. This group was one of those at the forefront in the anti-HCR efforts last year. The Koch Brothers own Koch Industries, and they have made no bones in the past about their desire to see the entire labour movement in the US completely crushed. So, while it's only the public-employee unions right now, it's the first step down the path to killing all labour unions in the US. Why? Because, as pointed out above, powerless unions allow wages to be depressed. If you like having a car, phone service, broadband internet, cable TV, perhaps a family cell phone plan as well, think about being able to afford those on 1/10 of what you're currently making. And that would still be more than most Chinese workers are paid. So there's no way to get wages to where they're competitive with Chinese wages without gutting the American standard of living. Also, if you suck that much money out of the pockets of the workers, they shock to the consumer system would utterly destroy the US economy. Think the "Great Recession" was bad? Think the "Great Depression" was worse? Combined they would be nothing compared to what would happen if the wage depression the corporate class wants to see were to come to pass.
4) Unions have been responsible for a lot of the labour protections we take for granted. You work in a building free of mold, lighting fixtures with faulty wiring, and fire safety doors at the exits that aren't locked? Thank the unions. You have paid vacation time? Thank the unions. You get overtime pay for hours in excess of 40 hours in a week? Thank a union. Your child can't work until 15 and cannot operate heavy machinery until 18? Thank a union. You can't get fired without just cause? Thank a union. These are things many employees, even in non-union jobs, enjoy. And this doesn't even count the benefits that employers are required to offer like health care and retirement savings.
5) The other reason for corporatists to legislatively eviscerate the unions is to hurt their political opposition. With the Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case, corporations can make unlimited contributions to the campaigns of candidates. Studies have shown that the vast majority of these contributions for the 2010 election cycle went to Republican candidates. Meanwhile, private citizens and labour unions are limited in their ability to contribute. And labour unions overwhelming gave to Democratic candidates for office. In fact, unions were responsible for the largest share of contributions to Democrats. Without unions, Democratic candidates would be sorely underfunded. This would inhibit their ability to get elected. It would effectively turn the United States into a one-party state, not unlike what Egypt has been for the last several decades.
So when you see people in Madison and Columbus saying that they're protesting, that they're rallying, not just for the unions, but for the health and well-being of our democracy, it's not just hyperbole. It's plain and simple the facts. If these bills come to pass and the rights of workers are trashed, wages are depressed to "competitive" levels, and the funding base of one of our major parties is completely eroded, we will no longer live in a vital, healthy democracy. We will live in a nation where the income gap grows ever wider between the top 5% and the lower 95%. We will live in a country where worth is measured by wealth and upward mobility will be a quaint footnote in our history books (assuming that the Republican overlords will even allow it in the texts). And it will be enforced at the barrel of the guns of the world's largest standing army, if necessary. THIS is the New World Order; not a "one-world government", but a government of the wealthy, by the wealthy, for the wealthy. And this is why the rights of some teachers in Madison, Wisconsin to bargain collectively with the government, even in a time of tight government purse strings, is so important that EVERY working American should be supporting them.