Response to a letter…

Just finished your book, interesting. Not an Oregon voter (MI) but noted and have to hope you rethink this one (Public Employees Take Notice, Jan 8 blog). Being the child of UAW workers, and now a unionized college professor – I can honestly say there is waste in the system. And it is unfortunate to have votes sold to interest groups. But there is waste in every system, and there is corruption on all sides. I am all for improving/streamlining/increasing accountability (I LOVE (and benefit) from our merit based raises for instance) – but targeting this (large) group as bogeymen seems out of proportion to the problem(s). Phil Renato

Dear Phil,

Glad you enjoyed my book. My kids nagged me into writing it.

I’m not picking on public employee unions any more than I am the lawyer’s union, doctor’s union or indeed, this union of 50 states. All unions by nature exclude non-members from consideration; all are corrupted by selfish-interest. Only individuals have ethics. Groups don’t. These “groups” pool their money to buy laws favoring themselves at the expense of non-members.

Only by public financing of elections and outlawing “contributions” to elected officials can we have a government of the people, by the people and for the people. What we have now is government for sale to the highest bidder. Public employee unions are the highest bidders of all as witnessed by the wide gap over the private sector in pay scale (45% higher) and benefits (70% higher). Public employees should have never been allowed to unionize. Neither should anyone else for that matter. The argument that employers tread on employees is spurious; all are free to seek the best wages anyplace they can be found and can quit without notice to do so. This is “free-enterprise.” All unions extort so should be banned for the same reason we outlawed the communist party.