[quote=njtosd][quote=tc]If more of the country was unionized we wouldn’t need to worry so much about expensive government programs like food stamps, affordable health care acts, etc. Because unions make sure that employers are paying for it. At least private unions do.
America was at its best when the country was more union friendly. But whatever kill the unions and see where it gets us.
Our children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.[/quote]
See my earlier point about Michigan (which was the starting point of this post). If unions are so helpful, why is Michigan in such bad shape? I grew up outside of Detroit – the UAW drove the auto industry out of state. It created the need for the enormous amount of public assistance now going to Michigan’s citizens.
And, I have to ask – who conquered our continent? I must have missed something in the history books -[/quote]
Michigan is in such bad shape for a number of reasons: the over-reliance on a single, mismanaged industry; racial issues and tensions; economic recessions; and the gradual decline of domestic manufacturing, in general.
While the unions are certainly complicit to an extent, they did not cause the demise of the U.S. auto industry. The management teams did not keep up with changing tastes and responded to the oil crisis with poorly engineered and unappealing cars. The Japanese got a foothold in the U.S. as a result, and have basically gained market share ever since.
The U.S. automakers have also had to deal with crippling healthcare costs that their largest competitors didn’t have to deal with because their governments provide universal healthcare, and their healthcare system is largely non-profit. That takes a HUGE burden off the shoulders of businesses and employees.
If unions are the cause of the auto industry’s or Michigan’s demise, why haven’t unions destroyed industries in Germany, Austria, Sweden, etc.? The unions there are very powerful, yet these countries thrive. How can that be?
As to the question of who will conquer our continent? Some would say the capitalists whose sole desire is to amass ever more wealth and power at the expense of workers and/or the environment.
