The Right to Work in Michigan –President Obama Attacks Michigan Governor over Union-Busting State Law - During Tax Hike Speech in German-Owned Factory in Bankrupt Detroit. – A Rant

What a pickle – The President was on the stump yesterday in Detroit, campaigning for a proposed tax increase on those earning $250,000 or more. He was speaking at Daimler-owned, Detroit Diesel, to a “crowd” of “hundreds” of UAW members. He then went on to blast Michigan Governor, Rick Snyder, for his support of the impending “Right to Work Legislation (Detroit Free Press). The Right to Work - a concept where the employer-employee relationship does not require that the employee join a union, nor does the employer have to collect union dues from employees paychecks, is at issue. In a “right to work” state, employers are able to fire or hire at will – unions prevent an employer from firing anyone, regardless of how egregiously incompetent that employee might be. In addition, the employer has no ability to offer merit pay increases or promote an employee – as unions insist that all individual members are on the same footing. The battle has broken down into sides: Organized Labor against State Governments and Republican’s against Democrats, the employers and employees are simply stuck in the middle.

Union Busting or taking power away from union management is the key element in the fight against “Right to Work”. The national unions generally support one political party, which explains the President’s tone in Michigan. The real point is, if the unions were so popular with the workers, and offered prospective employees such a great deal, and then a “Right to Work law” should, under normal circumstances, make the union more competitive. That’s the big If.

Those Union Bosses (pick a union) make six figure salaries, and control the cash that millions of workers in the U.S. contribute through Union Dues. These dues are spent, for the most part, on political campaigns. Those political campaigns are generally campaigns for Democrats. It matters not if a union member is a Republican, a Libertarian, a Green Party Member- dues are dues. If the union bosses decide to make a statement, and call a strike, the union members are out of work and out of a paycheck. If these demands are unreasonable – then the “corporation” may just fold up and those striking workers are out of a job (See Twinkies- now closed in the U.S. and opening soon in non-union Mexico).

The premise for giving the employee the options and, in essence taking power from the union, will encourage those employers who might open a shop in say, bankrupt Detroit, if there were not union to make demands that the employer could not fiscally support, that would allow the extremely high unemployment to drop. Would those employees make less than their union counterparts – possibly, and they might also have to chip in for their health insurance and put cash into their own 401K. Employers, and even large corporation, prefer to hire “talent” – those that will rise to the occasions, - those clerks that go from the mail room to the boardroom so to speak. (Something that is prohibited under a union). The fact that the City of Detroit would have more residents employed, collect taxes from new businesses, and possibly drag itself out of arrears (of course, there is the corruption, but…) would be on the table.

There is this consensus among the left, and the union believers, that those who live in right to work states and are non-union, somehow are suffering unimaginably – They point to the south and west in particular where the majority of the right to work laws have passed. What they don’t point to, is the fact that those states have lower unemployment rates, higher homeownership, and an influx of new residents. If one reviews the 2010 census data, states with right to work laws, had increases in their population to the extent that they gained seats in the Congress, while those states without “right to work laws, lost population, and seats in the Congress.

Unions were formed to help employees with dangerous working conditions, protect them from working overlong hours, and insure that they had a living wage. Since the 1950’s when the unions were at their strongest, the U.S. government has enacted laws that protect workers from dangerous conditions (OSHA), insure that there is a living wage (Minimum Wage Laws) and the list goes on. Unions were essentially formed for those workers who were unable to defend themselves –undereducated, mainly immigrant, and working in the myriad factories that were once a part of the American Landscape.

Those factories are gone, for the most part; manufacturing in the U.S. has gone – to other countries where there are no unions, which reduces the costs to the employer. (Example: unions expect benefits to be fully funded by employers).

Govenor Snyder recognizes this – and is attempting to pull Michigan out of a swamp of debt. The President, who is a supporter of Unions (see campaign funds), and has a philosophy of bigger government) is at odds with States that take power from the Unions and hand it back to the employee and employer, and specifically cuts the campaign coffers of party members (Democrats) from the local level to the federal level It ‘s about policitcs – period.

Meanwhile the fiscal cliff looms, or does it? The fact that we, as a nation are in such deep debt, and there is no other option, from the Presidents point of view, other than to “Tax our way out of it”, while increasing Govenrment spending, does not add up. There are ways in which to cut the waste at the Federal Level, that would bring in billions: consolidating duplicate and triplicate agencies and positions, doing away with agencies that no longer are relevant, and retooling the budget appropriates to the individual agencies by eliminating the need for those agencies to spend every red cent – or not receive funding the following year. If the later were reformed, and an agency granted a 1 million dollar budget it did not need, refunded the balance each year, while still receiving adequate funding that would save the nation a bundle. Additionally consolidating these non-relevant agencies would further reduce the deficit. This is across all government agencies. This system has been in effect for too long, and under both Republican and Democrat administrations. In other words, we send idiots to Washington to deal with cash flow and budgets. It would take an Act of Congress, and a President in simpatico to fix the mess in short order – thus savings billions and reducing the deficit.

Cut out any grants or funds are not fiscally sound or would improve the nation on a very real level. If one looks at the projects the taxpayer’s supports, then one understands there is a frivolous waste of money being spent by both parties.

Let the State’s be States and the Federal Government return to its original role as stated in the Constitution.

As none of the above stand a snowballs chance in Hades of every happening unless there is a third or fourth party to knock the stuffing’s out of those two behemoths in power, which would take, years, the nonsense will continue.

He said she said, Bad Republican, Bad Democrat, and the masses (all of us) can complain or bemoan the worst of each other’s party of choice, and continue to pay Caesar. This is what will most likely occur.

Michigan will succeed in passing the Right to Work Law, Organized Labor will complain a great deal as will major and minor Democrats, and within a few years, Michigan will be booming, housing will rise above unprecedented levels, due to the influx of new jobs, and new residents. There won’t be one story in the news about it, one doesn’t hear how well they are doing in those horrid 23 “Right To Work” states John Boehner, the Republican House Speaker (so far) will, together with House Republican’s and the Senate Republican’s, strike a deal to raise taxes, for the promise of cuts down the road. It’s an awfully long road. Business will continue as usual, until the money runs out. There is that premise where the government does not have any income o f its own, it collects taxes and then distributes that “revenue” to fund projects, and pay employees, and pay for welfare, and health care and retirements. When employers faced with higher taxes, either cut workforce, or leave the country, those are additional bodies on the “dole”, and the government loses income from those bodies, while adding debt in the form of “taking care of those whom they have caused to lose income”. When, eventually, there are so few taxpayers left to support the system, the general concept would be to increase taxes on those remaining workers, when that fails and the government can no longer pay its bills (send out checks) – one has chaos.

Steps one can take:

Start watching Doomsday preppers and taking notes.

Become an ex-patriot.

Start forming new political parties to challenge the status qua.

Obviously, this began as a critique of the situation in Michigan, but it is truly a piece based on sarcasm and disgust of the status quo and the complete disregard for the people who hired these politician’s - both Democrat and Republican, to uphold the Constitution – and stay out of State’s Rights.