A "False Middle Class"

Frank Ahrens in the Washington Post at least knows enough to link labor unions with the growing middle class, but look at the way he frames it:

The question is: Do we want to increase membership in unions that, in some respects, created a false middle class for decades, setting prices for labor that never would have been reached had they been left solely to market forces? Is that the way to middle-class prosperity?

What the heck is a "false middle class"? Would our grandparents have enjoyed their paid vacations, dignified retirements and childrens' educational accomplishments if they had known they were "false"? If there was a middle class that tens of millions of Americans enjoyed for decades, improving living standards for a the broadest swath of people ever and creating unprecedented societal prosperty and stability for generations, what exactly is "false" about that? "Setting prices for labor that never would have been reached had they been left solely to market forces"? Frankly, I'm not sure that "market forces" are what pay investiment bankers 7 figure bonuses for making losing investments, but I have trouble figuring out why the fickle finger of the market tickles some and not others, anyway. Did market forces put an end to slavery, indentured servitude or child labor? If not, is that "false freedom" and is it any less sweet than the real freedom brought about by market demand?

Oh well. At least the author acknowledged an upside to unions, which is more than you can usually expect from the Washington Post.

Mark 6:37

Mark 6:37 - loaves and fishes.

South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer says:

My grandmother was not a highly educated woman but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed. You're facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don't think too much further than that. And so what you've got to do is you've got to curtail that type of behavior. They don't know any better.

This logic would apply equally to charity as to government assistance, of course.

Now read him "standing up for his belief in God."

That is, his belief that he has the God-given right to a South Carolina license plate stamped "I Believe."

The Right Attitude

There are not enough blogs that write about unions regularly. I'll try to aggregate some things I look at here. If you have any news worth passing along - feel free to put it in the comments and I can try to highlight it.

I ran across this President's message from Bob Owens, President of Local 562 of the TWU, which represents American Airlines mechanics.

As we celebrate and remember the life of Dr. Martin Lutehr King let us remember that his struggle was for equal rights and dignity for all people. When Dr. King was murdered he was in Memphis Tennessee to support striking garbage workers. As workers we must remember that the things that we have lost and the things we are in danger of losing weren't just given to workers, they were fought for, and we must fight to regain what has been lost and keep what we have.

Ending with this:

[R]ollng over and just accepting what the company wants to impose upon us will not make us any safer than fighting back. . . . if you don't start getting used to the idea that we have to be prepared to fight back then you had better get used to the idea that they will take what little is left.

Amen. There is plenty for working people to be angry about but how often does, say, cable news show it focused on corporations?

Huh. I wonder why that is.