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creases December 10 2008, 15:17:27 UTC
The Austrian economists are pointing out that the reason the Big Three are closing, is because their operational costs are much higher than overseas companies; and the reasons their costs are higher, is because of laws that supposedly benefit workers at the expense of employers - especially benefits secured by unions.

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pure_doxyk December 10 2008, 15:28:21 UTC
Yeah, unsurprisingly it's really popular to blame the unions ... darn those poorer and largely-minority people! ... but seriously? REALLY? You're going to blame one half of a bargaining unit -- and the weaker half at that -- for failures that they couldn't have possibly prevented or controlled, even if they'd done nothing but striven to ( ... )

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creases December 10 2008, 15:48:18 UTC
The point is, the laws that supposedly benefit the workers now threaten to put them out of jobs, unless their employers are bailed out at the expense of taxpayers (ie., mostly other workers and the middle class). Either these ostensive benefits to workers turn out not to be in their benefit, really, or else they benefit some workers at the expense of others (and not the rich, at that).

Do I think workers should have good health coverage? Of course I do. Do I think this way of ensuring it is effective and sustainable? No, I don't.

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creases December 10 2008, 16:52:30 UTC
I guess I didn't really address your concerns about deeper structural problems; and I'm not sure I really know what to say, except that if these are the real underlying problems, then these companies must tank so that smarter companies can step in and employ the same labor force.

Recessions involve ugly transitions; the faster they can be allowed to sort themselves out, the better for the worker in the long run.

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