To protect the UAW from the ill effects of what might happen to them if GM goes bankrupt:Mr. Obama played the tough guy in getting rid of Mr. Wagoner, but he won't go after the labor monopoly. In fact, the union will emerge with a stronger grip on Detroit -- because it will be a major shareholder in a reorganized GM.All at the expense of the American taxpayer. During one of the most troubled economic times in recent history. When we can hardly afford it.
Sad.
(HT Dad)
1 comment:
Why in the world would Obama go after the UAW? They were not the cause of the problem...they were not the ones who made poor management decision after poor management decision in terms of what types of vehicles to produce.
The UAW has made several major concessions to try to keep GM and the other automakers afloat; in fact, union members are the one group that's been sacrificing and sacrificing. I don't see too many union members getting Wagoner's 20 million dollar golden parachute after years of failure.
And if the employees have a bigger say in the company, that's great.
For several years the middle class has actually declined economically while those at the top have seen their wealth skyrocket.
That's not a healthy form of capitalism. Health capitalism identified by a middle class that is growing in prosperity. This trickle down economics is the mark of an economy destined for failure.
If anything we need stronger unions. Rebuild the labor movement and you will go along way towards rebuilding the middle class and America.
Unions are not perfect, but nor are the corporate chieftains. Unions can serve as a productive counterbalance to concentrations of corporate power among the executives.
But the unions are one of those predictable whipping boys for the extreme conservatives, who of course have a pretty poor track record.
As for the American taxpayer burden...well, first off, alot of those taxpayers are union members. Second, if one allows the auto makers and the unions to fail, consider the costs to the taxpayer in terms of unemployment insurance, payments from the pension guarantee fund, etc. And then there's the fact that many would end up getting healthcare through emergency rooms, and so the rest of the public would end up paying for that, only in the most inefficient way. Of course many would just not get needed healthcare and suffer the consequences, which not only has an economic cost, but a human one.
Finally, consider that the Japanese automakers do not have unions because their govt provides much of what the unions have to fight for: namely, universal health coverage and a pension.
In fact American companies are increasingly crippled competitively because other nations provide far better healthcare coverage for their people.
It's well known that the major reason why the American car companies have placed so many factories in Canada is to take advantage of their universal health care system that frees them up from crushing health care costs.
So if you want to make the unions go away, let's really provide for the workers and create a better system of universal health care for starters.
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