Union thugs also praised by Hard LeftThe Communist Party USA, while on occasion working to build third party efforts, has since the 1930s, consistently supported and infiltrated the Democratic Party.
In a column in today’s Peoples World, Communist Party national Secretary Sam Webb, lays out the reasons why his Party, despite some “disappointments”, will continue to support their “friend” Barack Obama and the Democrats in 2012.
But the main question from a strategic point of view is this: Does it make any difference, from the standpoint of the class and democratic struggles, which party gains political ascendency?
Some – though not the labor movement nor other mass organizations of the American people – say no, it doesn’t.
Some even go a step further and say a Democratic victory creates popular illusions, which in turn weaken the people’s struggles. And the only way out of this vise is to form a third party now.
Communists don’t agree with either one of these views. In our view, the differences between the two parties of capitalism are of consequence to class and democratic struggles.
(from
trevorloudon.com)
Ramesh Ponnuru takes on the decline of Organized LaborThe shift toward a more competitive economy has not hurt workers in general: Total employee compensation as a share of the economy held fairly steady during the second half of the last century even as unions were shrinking. (It’s true that wages as a share of the economy fell, but that was a result of the increased cost of benefits.) The shift has, however, increased inequality among workers, with more rewards going to those with higher skills.
If we want to reverse the unions’ decline, the kind of labor-law changes that the Obama administration’s appointees to the NLRB have in mind -- such as speeding up elections -- are unlikely to do the trick. We would have to reduce competition among companies, too, domestically and internationally. The economy would have to be far more regulated than anyone in the mainstream of American politics has advocated. And we would almost certainly have to be willing to be a poorer country. We shouldn’t want any of that.
Our country has plenty of economic problems. But we also have blessings, and the continued decline of labor unions is one of them.
(from
bloomberg.com)
Obama camp eyes civil unrest for 2012 re-electThousands of British schools will close and travelers will face long lines at airport immigration this week when three quarters of a million workers go on strike – the first blast in what unions hope will be a summer of discontent.
The first test comes Thursday, when 750,000 public-sector workers – from teachers to driving examiners to customs officials – walk out for the day, part of a growing wave of opposition to the Conservative-led government’s deficit-cutting regime of tax hikes, benefit curbs and spending cuts.
The U.K. Border Agency has warned travelers could face delays at British ports and airports when passport officers walk out, and said “passengers who can do so may wish to travel on other dates.” The agency says there is no risk to Britain’s security.
The unions say the strike is just the start of a campaign of labor action on a scale unseen in Britain for three decades.
“On Thursday we will see hundreds of thousands of civil and public servants on strike,” said Mark Serwotka, leader of the Public and Commercial Services Union. “We fully expect to be joined by millions more in the autumn.”
(from
theblaze.com)
Expert likens Manchurian Moonbat to LBJ, NixonI always thought it was creepy the way Barack Hussein Obama has repeatedly referred to the likelihood of his being a one-term President. It is as if he knew, even as he campaigned in 2008, that all the loose ends and unanswered questions about his life would eventually disqualify him.
It is now widely acknowledged that the mainstream media ran interference for him, ignoring or disparaging those who questioned his eligibility. After two and a half years in office, however, his arrogance and incompetence is so manifest that even they can no longer cover for him.
Obama has single-handedly generated a mass political movement called the Tea Party and election results for governors and members of Congress have put opposition candidates into office.
On March 31, 1968, then-President Lyndon B. Johnson announced that he would not run for reelection, responding to the massive opposition to the war in Vietnam. On August 9, 1974, Richard M. Nixon announced his resignation in the wake of the Watergate scandal to avoid impeachment.
I predict that Barack Hussein Obama will resign before the end of his first term. He may well do so prior to the September 2012 Democratic Party convention.
(from
papundits.wordpress.com)
Four facts you may not know about the impact unions have had in Wisconsin1. Protesting at the Special Olympics isn’t off limits
When union protesters heard Governor Scott Walker would give a pep talk to Special Olympians, they shockingly dressed up like zombies and disrupted the event (Washington Examiner, June).
2. Protestors caused $7.5 million in damage to the Wisconsin State House
Union protestors who swarmed the State House and climbed through windows in an attempt to disrupt the people’s business caused millions in damage in the process (Journal Sentinel, March).
3. So many government employees skipped work that schools closed
In Madison, Wisconsin, the entire school district was closed for three days as hundreds of government employees called in “sick” (Maclver Insitute, February).
4. Government unions force taxpayers to fund liberals
In 2010, the largest government employee union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, gave Democrats $90 million. Many employees are forced to join these unions and parts of their dues go directly to liberal politicians (Washington Examiner, February).
(from
kapankeforsenate.com)
Owning GovMo has its privilegesImage:
27 June 2011
Mr. Bill Jordan, President
UAW Local 599
812 Leith St.
Flint, MI 48505
Dear Mr. Jordan:
The blog Carpe Diem today features a photo of a sign in the parking lot of (what I assume to be) your Michigan headquarters. That sign reads: “Only American-Union Made Automobiles, Trucks & Motorcycles Are Allowed In This Parking Lot. Violators Will Be Towed.”
You seek to punish those who, by purchasing substitutes for the vehicles that your members currently are employed to produce, reduce the demand for unionized autoworkers and, thereby, destroy some jobs in unionized U.S. auto plants.
Of course, you may exclude from your parking lot whomever you wish, for whatever reasons you wish. But I’m curious: do you also threaten to tow away old American-made automobiles? The person who drives, say, a 1991 Buick Regal – whether he bought it new 20 years ago or bought it used yesterday – opts, no less than does the person who drives a 2011 Toyota Camry, not to buy a newly made American automobile. Both persons spend their money now in ways that keep demand for new American-made automobiles lower than it would otherwise be. The spending choices of the owner of the 1991 Buick harm your members no less than – and for exactly the same reasons as – do the spending choices of the owner of the 2011 Toyota.
In light of this reality, do you and your members want Uncle Sam to impose a special tax on Americans who buy used cars? How about a tax on each American who keeps the same automobile for, say, more than five years? After all, someone who keeps her car in good repair and, as a result, lets many years pass between the time she bought her last car and the time she buys another, contributes to the decline of the U.S. auto industry in precisely the same way as does the most fanatical buyer of shiny new Volkswagens or Hondas.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Professor of Economics
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
(from
cafehayek.com)
Union thugs also praised by Hard Left
