Open Thread


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  1. DH – am diggin the Black Keys – am on their myspace rightnow – i love their sound

    GO YANKS! – trying to get to go to the world series for next week! tickets though are a weee bit insane at the moment

  2. I don’t see any contempt of labor here. I’ve worked on both sides – management & labor (as a freelance you’re always schizo that way); I’ve been a techie & a roadie as well as “the creative” & a producer. There’s equal joy & sweat in all those endeavors as well as a satisfaction in knowing how to do a job well. We started w/ talking about those who don’t do a job well – or at all. That’s a far cry from denigrating workers.

  3. I think wages should be based on how nasty the work is…

    * Brain surgeon — high wage because of training req’t, but not that high because it’s pretty tidy.

    * Plumber — very high wage because of training AND it’s effing gross what they have to deal with. It’s not all natural gas lines and new faucets!

  4. Joe and Bxgrl;

    You are both claiming that there is disprespect for working-class people here, but I fail to see it. What folks are complaining about is how unions distort the natural pricing structure that is necessary for economic growth.

    I’ll give my own situation as an example. I’ve spent my entire career in an industry (Fiber-optic components) that is quickly moving to Asia and is becoming a commodity. As a result, my “pricing power” with respect to my salary is weakening, even though I am at an age (52) where retirement is not yet in the cards. Should I adopt a union mentality and create an artificial demand for my services (WHICH, I can tell you from watching this situation upclose, is a debilitating experience to a person)? Or should I be a free person, with a free mind, and adopt myself to another profession that pays a salary that I desire? That is what this comes down to, at least to me. I believe in the credo that the WSJ proclaims: “Free men, and free markets”. That is not what unionism is about.

    If folks want to join a private-sector union, that’s fine with me. As M4L stated above, if I feel I’m not getting good value from union labor, I’ll take my money elsewhere. In my experience, I do not get good value.

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