Thursday, May 6, 2010

unions and the government in bed

Why don't more people cry out about such injustices? Big Govt and Big Labor vs. taxpayers and little labor...brutal!

From the editorialists of the WSJ...

There's almost a direct correlation these days between the Obama Administration's complaints about "special interests" and its own fealty to such interests. Consider its latest decree that federal contractors must be union shops.

The federal rule, which went live yesterday, implements an executive order President Obama signed within weeks of taking office...federal agencies to require "project labor agreements" for all construction projects larger than $25 million...only contractors that agree to union representation are eligible for work financed by the U.S. taxpayer.

Only 15% of the nation's construction workers are unionized, so from now on the other 85% will have to forgo federal work for having exercised their right to not join a union. This is a raw display of political favoritism...

It's also a rotten deal for taxpayers. White House economist Jared Bernstein blogged that these agreements "significantly enhance the economy and efficiency of Federal Construction projects." In fact, the carve-outs put an end to open, competitive federal bidding, which means higher project costs. They also mean taxpayers must finance the benefits and work rules of union members....

2 Comments:

At May 6, 2010 at 11:02 AM , Blogger Greg said...

They have eliminated 85% of the suppliers, likely including the most cost-effective ones.

Under what theory of economics is this going to "significantly enhance the economy and efficiency of Federal Construction projects"?!

 
At May 6, 2010 at 1:36 PM , Blogger Eric Schansberg said...

According to Wikipedia, he does not have a degree or any formal training in economics. He earned a bachelor's degree in String Bass and then graduate degrees in Social Work.

It would take some really bizarre assumptions to draw the inference that this would enhance "efficiency and economy".

 

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