Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Weakening unions causes the private sector employees suffering.
Union wages and benefits became noncompetitive within the global market and compared to the productivity associated with technology. What country is going to import from the US and pay a steep premium to sustain the US middle class when other alternatives are available? Then there's trade agreements. There are reasons why European and US auto makers choose to manufacture in Mexico instead of their own countries and cheap labor is only a part of it.
Start with a desired outcome and work backwards, adding factors that support your conclusion and dismissing those that do not.
The CATO Institute considers itself a libertarian think tank, founded by Charles Koch. 80% of its funding comes from tax deductible private donors. Its positions include but are not limited to:
Advocating :
Elimination of public education
Privatize Government
Liberalizing immigration laws
Privatizing Social Security
Opposing:
Wall Street regulation/reform
Campaign Finance Reform
The current CATO president is a former investment banker with Barclays.
I don't know about federal employees, but my son is a CPA with a County job. He makes about 30k a year less than an equivalent private sector employee. He doesn't complain, it's his choice to stay there, he does so for the good health insurance and defined benefit retirement. If they got rid of those two benefits he would put in his notice and go to work in the private sector without giving it a second thought.
Those benefits add up and may indeed increase his total comp above a private sector employee. Gov't jobs tend to have better benefits, better vacation, better retirement and sometimes, better salary. All I know is I have a terrible health plan, but high income in a sales field. So I do okay.
Ahh yes, the good ol Cato institute. They carry water for the rich, and create insanely flawed studies to back it up.
Lets look at this one...it looks like from what littel information we have that it compares the median income in the US with benefits to the median income for a federal employee. Without any consideration apparently to the actual jobs performed. Nice! And totally irrelevant in most cases. But it makes for a nice way to deceive people. Classy.
And look at those on the right just lapping it up. Its like people WANT to be deceived. Cato also does fun things like trying to claim that wealth in inequality are myths, that the rich aren't getting richer, and that the TPP is a GREAT thing!
Seriously people, studies like this are meant to deceive you, it isn't even all that challenging to see how.
Wow, ain't that the truth! I've seen so many of their studies that are just laughable but they sure get the right wingers salivating.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
