Oddbean new post about login | logout I have to go to sleep, will follow up in the am. I do feel like a point I want to argue is this. I don't think any American citizen (in private sector) has any duty to work for any other citizen. I understand unions have "industrialized" labor for a lack of a better phrase. I think I see what your arguing. I just can't get where "your job is important to me" therefor I'm demanding you stop whining. I have no obligation to work for you. People are allowed to be selfish in a free country. Full stop. Who am I do judge what's "selfish". I just want that argument off the table. I'm not trying to put words in your mouth, I'm speaking out loud here.
I would agree with you on about 85% of jobs, but there are jobs that have a heavy impact on other people. If these individuals want to take a job in that field, they should likewise have to take up the responsibility that position has. Their jobs aren't just important to ME, they're important to everyone in the country. Not only would their strike have decimated our already tattered economy, it would have prevented much-needed aid from arriving to the hurricane victims, and it'd sink so many families who are struggling to pay for groceries... all for them to receive a 77% pay increase from, as I said, their already considerable wages. Combining the lack of need for that high of a wage increase, and the fact that their job directly and severely impacts everyone else in the country, I cannot and will not be sympathetic to them in this case. Period.
the protesting is a dumb way to get a better income plenty of higher paid physical labor based jobs out there at different times, just, and this is the thing i think you are not keeping in mind about how this situation emerges in the first place: by constantly debasing the money, the banks and government get extra rent out of us, but they also disincentivise accumulating capital by the workers when they don't have any savings, they can't make a career transition or weather a time of no work, pile on top of that car, credit card and mortgage repayments, all of which are organised by the bank, who is complicit and benefiting from the debasement of the currency the entire edifice of labor unions is exactly a manufactured system to respond inappropriately to the situation created by the constantly debased money and the culture of credit addiction that is beneficial to the interests of lenders so, what does the dock worker do? if they can't save, they can't change jobs, so they go along with the union action this has been an achilles heel in the economy and you are voicing the exact reason why they even have so much power - transportation is the heart of commerce
The best part is that if we had more robust domestic production and shipping, we wouldn't have to worry too much about these kind of things, but unfortunately we are way too reliant on external countries for virtually everything.