Auto Workers Union – Did they screw themselves over?
12 Sep 2009 Leave a Comment
in Economics Tags: anti union, anti workers union, Auto Bailout, Auto Workers Union, Economics on youtube, Freedomainradio, Steven Mullenux, unionist, workers union
Autoworker on strike
Stephen Mullenux from Freedomainradio has an interesting video on youtube about how the autoworkers union screwed the general public and themselves. You can find the video here.
Let me make myself clear: I, thehawaiianlion am anti-union. Unions destroy competition; raises labor costs higher than its market value; increases production and product costs; and have at times used violence to achieve their goals – for example, beating up replacement workers, preventing people from entering or leaving the vicinity, and threatening others to get their demands met. In those extreme cases, I view them as no different than a street gang.
I also believe the union workers screwed themselves. They should have known what they were doing: being reliant on an unstable industry that depends on government force to reduce competition, increases production costs, stifles domestic and foreign competition, and makes everyone else poorer. They were making more than the market value, and they should have saved – not spend beyond their means. In the long run they screwed themselves out of a job, and worst of all the American public and their children through public debt in the form of a bailout.
I am just speculating here but unions make worker complacent; believe that they deserve more than their market value; and believe their job is secure in a job world that is the opposite. Unions bubbles it members from the real market and job conditions through force – mainly political but sometimes physical – and convinces them that they are worth it.
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Here are some points from the video worth mentioning.
1. Unions tell workers they deserve more than their earning.
2. Unions eliminate the risk of trying to get a raise yourself or even collectively. When an autoworker goes and negotiates for himself, he will soon find out his worth – based on what the market is willing to pay. If a worker believes their labor is worth 20% more than what they are currently earning, employers will have to increase car prices by 20%. Accordingly, if the customers are happy, they will pay 20% more to buy the car you make. Howeve if the consumer buys a car made by another or foreign manufacturer that isn’t giving 20% raises, you soon discover you are not worth the 20% raise.
3. Stephen Mullenux makes a good analogy of unions using the state – a body that stifles competition and increase wages through force – to someone using the mafia (A body that also uses force as a means to an end).
A union uses it clout to get a law passed in the workers favor. A law that Steven Mullenux describes as “A law that has people arrested and thrown in jail for having the audacity to compete with YOU in a free market environment.” In short, unions use the state – which he refers to as the mafia – to stiffen competition and to use its power to get workers the raise THEY deserve.
Japanese taxpayers’ yen is being wasted
09 Sep 2009 Leave a Comment
in Economics, Japan, Japan - Politics Tags: government spending in Japan, Japan Tax Politics, Japanese politics, Japanese Taxpayers, muda tsukai, reckless spending in Japan, wasted tax money
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bubazzo/3237768298/
The more prefectures and places I visit, the more inclined I am to agree with Alex Kerr’s view of modern Japan: one, there has been a rapid disappearance of traditional Japanese buildings and a subsequent increase of dull, modern buildings; two, massive amounts of tax-payers money is being wasted on public works. Following my belief in minimal government intervention, I propose that local and Prefectural governments in Japan stop building museums, zoos, aquariums, viewing towers – I would like to include roads as well, but that would take a whole article in itself.
Taxpayers’ money is being wasted in all corners of Japan. Every town, village, and city, big and small, famous or not, has wasted massive amounts of taxpayers’ money on public works. This waste can especially be seen in attractions that are not self-sufficient and drain tax dollars every year.
From your average art and history museums to your unnecessary World Brick Museum, there is a museum for practically anything in Japan and most are funded with fees collected from visitors and private donations. Not! Actually, most are funded through your public dollars. Examples of taxpayers’ money going down the drain can be seen as often as rice fields. Here is one example that is close to home.
There is a World Brick Museum in Maizuru, Kyoto. Basically, it is just a place with several brick buildings, but few visitors. The brick buildings were actually quite nice to look at, though I could not figure out why a small city on the Japan seacoast needed to build such a Museum. The city was not famous for brick making or buildings and had no reason to build it other than to attract visitors to come to Maizuru – which it wasn’t doing. It is the equivalent of me building a samurai museum in Hawaii: building something that is out of touch with the local culture and area. There is nothing wrong with building it, if a person or group did it with his or her own money. I do have a problem; however, when my tax dollars (yen) were being used to maintain it – especially when if given the choice, I would refuse funding it.
As I mentioned above, there is nothing wrong with building museums, anniversary buildings, theme parks, viewing towers in Government buildings (Toyama city), or other attractions. If some philanthropist, company, or organization wants to build it with its own money, go right ahead, the free market is not stopping you (although the Government might). However, I am against using taxpayers’ dollars being used to fund attractions that are not voted on or needed by the taxpaying public.
Museums that are needed can expect donations and profits from tickets sold. Museums that are not wanted will not receive donations and profits from tickets sold. Should the local politicians who have much to gain, decide whether or not a museum should be built? Or should the free market or local citizens decide?
If you agree that the local citizens should decide, I propose two possible solutions: give the taxpayers a choice between lower taxes or a range of public facilities, and museums. If a citizen chooses yes for a particular facility, the citizen will add the cost of maintaining it to their yearly taxes. If a citizen chooses no, the cost will be deducted from their tax bill. Not as good as the first solution, but for those who just need others to bear the cost of your wants – despite another person being against it – you can put it to a vote. If more than half of the citizens vote yes, build the building and spread the building and maintenance cost between all citizens.
I would choose very low taxes and pay a fee for the facilities I use. I believe people who should pay only for facilities. However, an exception would be made for a fire station, police station, hospital, and other institutes of public safety. A good example in Japan are public pools, you have to pay an entrance fee to use a public pool. The fee is pricey, but is not a problem when you are paying lower taxes.
Do you think a city’s taxpayers should have the right to at least vote on whether or not to use tax dollars to build an art museum, road, and aquarium? Or should publicly elected officials: those elected to represent the public, make the decision for them? Please comment and give your reasons why.
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