Quote:
Originally posted by Spanky
Yes some Unions support free trade just like some African Americans support the Republican party. By far the biggest fudning and most intense lobbying against all the free trade agreements comes from unions. Just like there are some businesses that are against free trade. But the pro-free trade unions and the anti-free trade businesses are both pretty insignificant.
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This is bullshit, and your comparison to Black Repubs is just plain silly. Unions and businesses watch for their own self-interest, and that of their members -- and they define these pretty narrowly. Do you really think that any corporate or business lobby has ever supported or opposed legislation that would be detrimental to their business, on the view that "competition is good"? You think massive subsidies for airlines is "pro-competition"? You think the steel tariffs were? Ridiculously below-market rates for extracting minerals from or grazing on federal land?
And your constant reference to what "people in Sacramento" say is meaningless. Blaming unions is easy -- many people are inherently anti-union; they've forgotten how bad things were for the working class -- no min. wage, no worker safety, company towns and stores, etc. -- before the union movement. Blaming the unions is a political ploy to garner support, one that has grown so ingrained with Repubs that they may not even realize it. If they can't blame "trial lawyers," they blame unions. The Dems have their own bugbears, of course ("it's a war for oil!"); a little critical reading is often helpful.
