The Bad Side of an Ugly Beast

Public sector unions may be the most destructive force in America today (though uncontrolled health costs and entitlements are in the running). And the political dynamic the public sector unions have created virtually ensures the problem will worsen year by year. This is a clear and reasonably comprehensive analysis: http://www.economist.com/node/17849199 The most essential problems are: 1. They possess monopoly power by controlling schools, police, firefighters, air traffic control, etc. They are in a position to blackmail society, which is what they do and one reason why they should be illegal. 2. They largely control the left wing of politics, which means many of those with whom they negotiate for higher wages and benefits are the same people whose election they engineered--they're negotiating practically with themselves. Self-dealing is generally considered an ethical breach even before actual abuse occurs, since such abuse is considered a foregone conclusion. Even most right-wing politicians cannot afford the political price of resisting the unions. This might expain GED-bearing prison guards making $100k a year and incompetent teachers never losing their jobs and police officers in some cities who collect pensions, on average, of over $100k a year after 20 years' service--the abuse goes on and on because no one is positioned to stop it. They're almost the top predator in the American economic ecosystem--and they may yet become the top predator, since they have effectively no natural enemies. Their determination to corrupt the political process (and their power to do so) is the other reason they ought to be illegal. 3. They use their power, naturally enough, to acquire more power--by financing politicians, by forcing the expansion of the unionized workforce, by telling their members whom to vote for. 4. Unions, by controlling the government, can acquire almost unlimited funds, since the government can always raise taxes and apply force to ensure they're paid. 5. People are made better off by increases in productivity. The private sector, because it is competitive, constantly increases productivity. The unionized public sector, having no competition, does not increase productivity except incidentally. Therefore, the larger the public sector is, the less overall productivity there is and the worse off society as a whole is. The bottom line is that public sector unions are powerful, growing more powerful, disadvantageous to everyone not in these unions, and face no real resistance. They're like an invasive species that destroys everything in its path because it has no natural predators. Public sector unions ought to be outlawed. This is a case in which freedom of assembly may justifiably be limited to conserve the probity of government.