Monday, September 06, 2010
The biggest union of all
Ben Shapiro, subbing for Jerry Doyle today, is making a strong argument against labor unions.
Shapiro allowed that unions were a positive force in the 1920's when most employers were sweatshops, but unions are a totally destructive force now. "Our current bankruptcy is caused by the unions." He also showed the strong connections between those old union leaders and the Soviet Union.
There's some truth in his history, but he misses the real point. When unions worked strictly against the bosses in the 1920's, they forced the non-union companies to treat workers well, to avoid being unionized. Those non-union companies were the best places to work. After 1970 the unions collaborated with bosses to increase the power and wealth of management in both groups. Result: American industry began its steep decline.
Shapiro took some hard calls from union men, and basically lost those arguments ... but none of the callers slapped Shapiro with the real knockout blow.
That would be as follows:
"Shapiro, you're a lawyer. You're bashing our unions, but lawyers have the biggest and meanest and most powerful union of all. Other unions use money to exert some influence on the government, but the ABA IS the government for all practical purposes. ABA selects judges and Congressmen. ABA trains and indoctrinates the Congressional staffers who actually draft the laws. Its fingerprints are on every law and every court decision. You dare to criticize the regular unions for trying to rent Congress? Your union is the landlord who receives the rent!
And you dare to criticize the Soviet influence on Gompers? Your ABA, in conspiracy with the ACLU, has served the Soviet cause a thousand times more ferociously and effectively than the industrial unions ever did." ¶ 1:48 PM
Shapiro allowed that unions were a positive force in the 1920's when most employers were sweatshops, but unions are a totally destructive force now. "Our current bankruptcy is caused by the unions." He also showed the strong connections between those old union leaders and the Soviet Union.
There's some truth in his history, but he misses the real point. When unions worked strictly against the bosses in the 1920's, they forced the non-union companies to treat workers well, to avoid being unionized. Those non-union companies were the best places to work. After 1970 the unions collaborated with bosses to increase the power and wealth of management in both groups. Result: American industry began its steep decline.
Shapiro took some hard calls from union men, and basically lost those arguments ... but none of the callers slapped Shapiro with the real knockout blow.
That would be as follows:
"Shapiro, you're a lawyer. You're bashing our unions, but lawyers have the biggest and meanest and most powerful union of all. Other unions use money to exert some influence on the government, but the ABA IS the government for all practical purposes. ABA selects judges and Congressmen. ABA trains and indoctrinates the Congressional staffers who actually draft the laws. Its fingerprints are on every law and every court decision. You dare to criticize the regular unions for trying to rent Congress? Your union is the landlord who receives the rent!
And you dare to criticize the Soviet influence on Gompers? Your ABA, in conspiracy with the ACLU, has served the Soviet cause a thousand times more ferociously and effectively than the industrial unions ever did." ¶ 1:48 PM
