[quote=livinincali][quote=CA renter]
The links show how capital will band together to gain more money/power, and this money/power is being siphoned directly from labor. It is imperative that labor band together as a counterbalance to the power of capital.
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Public sector unions are often deemed to be the most powerful labor unions so when they square off against government are they really fighting against capital. Does the government equate to capital? Do public sector labor unions demand that pay increases come directly from increased taxes on capital or do they not really care where government gets the money.[/quote]
Public sector unions are more powerful now because the private sector workers have been brainwashed into thinking that “unions are bad” and “globalization is good” so they’ve lost their respective power.
A neutral government represents neither capital or labor; but it can represent one side more strongly if the govt has been taken over. Who do you think is controlling the government? Take a look at the following material and tell me, with a straight face, that labor is controlling the government:
And look at the immigration and trade legislation that has been enacted over the past few decades.
Look at the link in my above post regarding the secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership as just one example of the capital-friendly/labor-unfriendly policies we’ve seen over the years.
There is no way in hell anyone can claim that the govt is on the side of labor.
And, once again, public sector employees have been taking pay **cuts** since the recession started. Nobody that I know is making more than they were in 2008; most of them are making less.
And, in the past, raises usually came from increased revenues that were the result of greater economic activity (higher home prices/property taxes, sales taxes that result from more sales, etc.) and/or inflation. A government entity can use that money to build infrastructure (combination of capital and labor), hire more people (labor), give raises to existing employees* (labor), and engage in some back-room deals with favored developers and other insiders (capital).
*It is often necessary to give existing employees a greater incentive to stay because when the economy is very strong because many public employees leave for private industry if there is much better money to be made. During the housing bubble, it was very difficult to keep existing employees in the public sector because the mortgage industry/RE/flipping became so hot.
