The Fall of the House of Labor

Corbett -- To say that unions are 'anti-worker' is nuts. I used to work in an 'agency' shop where no one was forced to join the union, but they had to at least pay a fee for the cost of union representaion. To eliminate these fees is the death of the union as most will not then join. Such people may be saving a little money in the short-term, but it will cost them long-term. Without a union, the employer has all control and can fire someone just because they don't like the way they look. Don't dare open your mouth if you want to work for a non-union employer.

Outsider - perhaps it depends on the field you're in. I'm an engineer, and have worked in union and non-union companies. Doesn't matter to me, because there's no such thing as an engineers union. And unions have nothing to do with my pay scale, it's all supply and demand.

OneForFreedom -- Workers in highly skilled professions, such as yourself, have never needed unions as much as the rank and file worker on the floor - whether it be in a factory or office. Workers who are considered semi-skilled can be replaced fairly easily. It is these workers most in need of a union to prevent arbitrary dismissal by an employer. Again, if you want to keep your job in a totally non-union environment, you'd better keep your mouth shut (this may also apply to engineers as all can be replaced). Workplaces are not democracies.

Ousider -- I work for a company with a union, though I am not a member. The union protects the worthless slackers and the incompetents. Those who actually get out there and hustle don't need or want a union. Employers have too much invested in their employees to arbitrarily fire the productive ones. Having the union "protect" the worthless just hurts everyone.

Ousider:

Unions are pro-union. They exist to feather the nests of the union bosses. They are anti-worker. As I pointed out, they attack replacement WORKERS whenever there is a strike. They do whatever they can to keep anyone who is not paying union dues out of a job.

Anyone who has the ignorance to call the great Pat Buchanan a 'moron' is truly an idiot. How many best-selling books have you published, magnetar?

Outsider:

Everyone has their blind spot. Buchanan's is economics. He is absolutely wrong about the subject -- no matter how many best selling books he has written. Economically, he IS a moron. He is dead wrong and keep spouting off on the subject.

Of course that doesn't mean he is moronic on everything. As you point out, he has written several excellent books on other topics. It is interesting, that he and Dr. Sowell are opposites on the subjects of free trade and foreign policy. Sowell supports free trade, but wants us to "do something" about Iran. I will back Sowell on economics, but Buchanan on foreign policy.

Rise, did you say? What about the 47 million on foodstamps, the nearly 50 percent who don't make enough to pay taxes? Our rise in standard of living has been driven by women leaving the home for work, by people going into debt over their heads, by a phony, bloated rise in housing prices driven by the socialist "easy credit" to people who couldn't afford to buy house. That phony standard of living has crashed. It now takes $9.56 to buy what a dollar could in 1950. A $10K salary then has to be $100K now. Of course, there are more gadgets available, and most people have a share of them. But with 50% of babies born out of wedlock, I don't think that's progress.