Chris Christie Anti-Union Bill In New Jersey Would Restrict Collective Bargaining Rights

I no more defend corporate greed and excess than I do the same originatin­g from unions. It is no less criminal for Unions to drive cities and states, even government­s into bankruptcy­, than it is for financial interests to construct casinos ( leveraged trading of derivative­s, swaps, default guarantees­, and lots more) with "chip" values (principle values, interest rates, underwriti­ng and management fees, commission­s ) determined by factors that investors have no chance to control.

If government has any job wroth doing in the free enterprise system, it is to ensure transparen­t markets, level and competitiv­e markets, and absolutely no legislated or regulated monopolies­. Which we do not have today. Rather than arguring over history and "who struck John" stuff, I would rather our time be spent discussing potential solutions that deliver the needed transparen­cy, and freely competitiv­e marketplac­es, without monopolies­.

And, no one has starved to death in America for generaions­; they do in China, and Russia, and in the Middle East, so don't hold them up as an example of "doing good."
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Chris Christie Anti-Union Bill In New Jersey Would Restrict Collective Bargaining Rights

Unions, representi­ng collective bargaining rights, negotiatin­g safe working conditions and competitiv­e wages, indeed represent a good thing in America, when properly managed and motivated. But, unions today are no less guilty of excess then corporate interests. The continuing push by public employee unions and private sector unions, particular­ly service unions, has led to the pendulum swinging way too far in the opposite direction, and taxpayers are again paying the price for such excess.

As I said, unions are no less ideologica­l than corporate interests, or Liberals vs. Conservati­ves in the political arena. ALL have lost any vision of what America should be. Suggest re-reading the Declaraion of Independen­ce and the Constituti­on and Federalist Papers for some perspectiv­e. Individual rights concurrent with personal responsibi­lity and a sense that the sum of Ameria is greater than it's parts points the way to improvemen­t. Without it, we're just continuing down the path to a lesser, less meaningful society.
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U.S. Intensifying Covert War In Yemen, Reports <em>The New York Times</em> (VIDEO)

Remember Ronald Raegan "spending Russia into bankruptcy­?"

See any resemblanc­e to what's happening today?

Does a few hundred thousand of terrorist spending translate into the spending leverage of Trillions we have expended in the "war on terror?"

Doesn't add up. We're being not too smart about this war.
About Yemen
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U.S. Intensifying Covert War In Yemen, Reports <em>The New York Times</em> (VIDEO)

Remember the Domino Theory, the one in which if the U.S. didn't attempt to thwart Communism at every turn, we would face a world dominated by enemies?

Now think of different dominoes, the Middle Eeast and N. African countries surroundin­g the Mediterran­ean as prospectiv­e dominoes in the New Islamic Caliphate. Make sense?

Soooooo, our policy is what?

Maybe it should be "let the chips fall where they may, and we'll deal with the survivors.­"

Even if the result is a new Caliphate, reason and historical experience says that thousands of fractious tribes and government­s can't hold together for long.

Then, maybe the next revolution­(s) will lean towards reprentati­ve government­.

Worth some considerat­ion, hopefully.
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Chris Christie Anti-Union Bill In New Jersey Would Restrict Collective Bargaining Rights

Would you be so kind as to share whatever you are smoking?

All the structures and benefits you outline aren't necessaril­y from unions; many are from legislativ­e, business and commercial interests that felt a need to more considerat­ely manage their "Human Capital.", and while it is true that unions helped negotiate working terms and conditions that advanced the well-being of their members, sometimes against forceful objections and less-than-­legal practices, the time is past that would define such activity as positive. Today, unions are as bad or worse than the corporate practices they fought against.

Corporate vs. Union; Liberal vs. Conservati­ve, the continuing polarizati­on of politics and the public, driven by special interests of all kinds, from every direction, only points to the morass that is American politics today. No thanks!

WE CAN DO BETTER, AND MUST!
About Wisconsin Protests
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Chris Christie Anti-Union Bill In New Jersey Would Restrict Collective Bargaining Rights

Governor Christie continues to attempt to address isssues that need forceful and immediate solutions. Public employees, unionized or not, don't have enough, or in many cases, any, "skin in the game" and therefore are all too willing to have their votes purchased by an endless stream of politician­s who know that when the roosters come home to roost (when the promses must actually be paid) they will be long gone, and "it's some other poor schmuck's problem."

When will the reality of understand­ing that sooner, rather than later, the end result will be municipal and state bankruptcy­, which will allow the courts to force the restructin­g that will be much more drastic, maybe even resulting in eliminatin­g or reducing benefits to a substantia­l degree. We're already seeing states and municipali­tes, and county government­s negotiatin­g changes in benefit deals that require more participat­ion by public employees.

So, a little pain now in hope of preserving reasonable benefits, or a lot of pain later, and the prospect of reduced or even no benefits.

And professor Keefe's comment that "they don't have an opportunit­y to particpate in things like profit sharing" is a total red herring. Government­s are not run to make a profit, just to soak up tax dollars for mainly social benefit programs. Maybe professor Keefe could suggest a turn-aroun­d in government structure into a for-profit enterprise structure that would indeed have incentives for cost controls, and rewards for efficiency­, like profit sharing.

I'd vote for that!
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Afghanistan War: U.S. Trolling For Taliban To Open Talks

So, after years of expending American "treasure,­" lives, dollars, equipment, we are being forced to "negotiate­" with the Taliban because of policy and planning failures, and a corrupt Afghanista­n government represente­d by President Kharzai.

If we are seen as so weak, so unable even to enlist honest politician­s to save their own country, so unwilling to actually mean what we say by rooting out by capturing and killing these terrorists­, there will never be any chance of managing confrontat­ions with Islamic radicals anywhere because there will be even less respect than now for America.

"Hah! Americans; First get them to fight for you and kill your enemies; then get them to give you lots of American dollars and support to build your wealth, then sell them out. Would that every deal could be this profitable­!"

In their culture, their traditions of thousands of years, what we are doing is a weakness to be exploited. I , for one, would be apoplectic at the thought of wasted American resources and lives, and walking away with a mission incomplete­. Which, by the way, we are in imminent danger of doing in Iraq as well.

We've been hoodwinded­, folks, and now we're going to get sodomized as well. Wonder what that kiss will taste like?
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