At Newsweek Mark McKinnon and Ezra Klein write on “Do we Still need Unions” Yes or No. A topic obviously picked because of the events in Wisconsin over the past few weeks. Events revolving around the power of public sector unions over governments and over the taxpayers who pay for all their wages and benefits.
Mr. McKinnion lays out the case for eliminating the power of public sector unions. Concluding with:
The primary purpose of public unions today, as ugly as it sounds, is to work against the financial interests of taxpayers: the more public employees are paid in wages and uncapped benefits, the less taxpayers keep of the money they earn. It’s time to call an end to the privileged class.
Mr. Klein on the other hand barely mentions public sector unions at all. He does start out on point with the situation in Wisconsin but rapidly moves on to a defense of the power of private sector unions as a necessary counterweight to the unbridled power of corporations. Both powers seen, however, through the lens of their effect on politics. Their ability to steer government in their own favor. Klein asserts,
A lot of what happens in politics is, unfortunately, the result of moneyed, organized interests who lobby strategically and patiently to get their way. Most of that money is coming from various business interests.
But from McKinnion we find,
Of the top 20 biggest givers in federal-level politics over the past 20 years, 10 are unions; just four are corporations. The three biggest public unions gave $171.5 million for the 2010 elections alone, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Then we get this rather strange assertion from Klein,
The Civil Rights Act, the weekend, and the Affordable Care Act are all examples of organized labor fighting for laws that benefited not just the unionized.
His entire piece is a monument to straw and misdirection. He could be “RD” or “Alphie” as his arguments work the same vein of malicious intent and disingenuousness.
Ezra Klein will be Paul Krugman in 25 years. Nobel Prize and everything.
Ack. I see that the misspelled version of Mr. McKinnon’s name with the extra “i” came back in the edited version I pulled up to send.
ezra the civil rights thing is 50 years old can we really trust it?
link
I don’t really buy the comparison to alphie and RD. Klein is a lying, disingenuous cuntbag, but they’re just stupid monkeys who dutifully regurgitate what they’re told to.
Ezra Klein — steeped in equal parts ignorance and histrionics — is a perfect example of the “cream” that rises in today’s liberal slag.
They all work to deflect any discussion or argument away from the substantive issue involved and toward one that they feel that they can win or at least not lose. That is the essence of their writing craft.
That our trolls do it for free or at most for the minimum wage of the “Camp Obama” graduates is a reflection on their relative abilities and worth to the paymasters of that side.
“That our trolls do it for free ”
huffpo tryouts
Egad. Does that mean if they disappear from here, they have been hired? They really are like American Idol wannabes that try out season after season and who can’t accept the words “you suck.”
I have yet to read a troll here that would make first cut in the sweepstakes to come up with a jingle to sell sex. Cause sex doesn’t just sell itself, you know.
Hunter Thompson was right, the scum also rises….
“They really are like American Idol wannabes that try out season after season and who can’t accept the words “you suck.” ”
“One of the things that has always amazed me about D.C. is how frequently young people change jobs here. You go to a cocktail reception and run into a think-tank guy you met at a reception six weeks ago: “Hey, how are things at [name of think tank]?” And he says, “Oh, I’m at [name of consulting firm] now.” So you say, “Oh, I know so-and-so who works there.” And the guy says, “No, she left. She’s working for [name of congressman] now.”
It’s a constant career merry-go-round and, apparently, the rule of this job-hopper game is: “He who has the most employers on his resume, wins.” ”
http://theothermccain.com/2011/03/14/revolving-doors-freire-exits-examiner-joins-nms-klein-exits-spectator-joins-examiner-hot-air-is-hiring-not-me/#respond
Why do Liberals always try to take credit for the Civil Rights Movement? Dems were against it from the start.
When I worked for a local government agency we were all encouraged to “voluntarily” donate to the officials who ran the agency. The workers who didn’t couldn’t be fired by law, yet never seemed to stay around very long.
Curious, ain’t it, Rupert.
Did someone make them an offer (to leave) they couldn’t refuse?
Heh. Seven Union Thugs thrown in jail, in Nashville. Brings a smile to my stone face.
It would be lovely if Tennessee cut pay and benefits for all music teachers at fourth-tier colleges.
I love this “the weekend” bullshit. I work at least part of each day on “the weekend”, almost every weekend. Most people in America do. I also spent years carrying a pager and working into the dead of night on projects for shitty 2% raises (if we were lucky)and maybe a 2k performance bonus. Also pretty typical nowadays. “Overtime” and “the weekend” are a privilege that most people don’t get. Like 15 minute coffee breaks and deferred compensation pension plans. How long has this Klein guy been working, anyway?
#5 While young Ezra might be somewhere in the backfield, and RD & alphie are just down linemen, they are all executing from the same playbook.