The Big Dance
You got to dance with the guy that brought you.
Another old expression that seems to be almost prophetic in its accuracy of the famed community activist turned leader of the free world Barack Hussein Obama.
As news wires were jammed with dismal economic statistics showing the worst quarterly economic downturn in 25 years the new president broke out his already well used pen and signed another series of executive orders strengthening organized labor at the expense of wage paying business and the 91% of private sector workers that do not belong to a union.
He also announced the formation of a task force assigned to address the problems of the American middle-class. This task force will be chaired by Vice President Joe Biden, giving him a chance to spend some time away from the talk show circuit and live microphones.
The president stated the reasoning behind his actions was to “level the playing field” for labor unions in their ongoing struggles with employers. The drawback in that reasoning is apparent to even the casual observer if one takes more than 5 minutes to review recent history. Labor unions are not looking for a level playing field. On a level playing field the union loses.
This is not to say that the mentality of reality the union’s posses can’t change. But thanks to this president and his administration of change, the unions are free to do anything but.
Using some of his old community activist rhetoric, the president said “I do not view the labor movement as part of the problem. To me it’s part of the solution. You cannot have a strong middle class without a strong labor movement.” The inability to accept or understand the role organized labor has played in the destruction of industries such as the Big Three Automotive manufacturers or the self-serving damage unrealistic union contracts have done over the years to industry as a whole is a very dangerous bliss. While this position is to be expected from a community activist it is beyond reproach for a president of all the people in the midst of a very serious recession. If you don’t understand that unrealistic union contracts are a problem, just take a ride through Detroit or any other major industrialized union metropolis.
It was back on February 20, 2008 that Teamsters Union President James Hoffa publicly made his endorsement of Barack Hussein Obama for president. He was the very first major union official to do so. Hoffa was an invited guest to this signing ceremony and said “It’s a new day for workers. We finally have a White House that is dedicated to working with us to rebuild our middle class. Hope for the American dream is being restored.”
This blatant quid pro quo by Obama is an obvious attempt to use all the governmental power necessary to continue pounding a square peg into a round hole. As Obama has already stated during his campaign he will use any means necessary to punish companies that send work out of the country, and he is now making it clear that he will also use his power to dictate the wages and benefits businesses will pay for in house work as well, effectively eliminating any possibility for these businesses to compete in a globally competitive market.
The real problem this community activist president fails to address, or possibly even understand, is that with the exception of those who work directly for the union, businesses pay wages not unions. In order for businesses to survive and continue to pay wages they must be competitive on a global scale. Historically unions have completely disregarded this simple fact and have focused solely on their own short term interest rather than the long term viability of the company that employs the workers.
One can hope that the president will gain some influence on just how unrealistic the unions will choose to be. But it is unlikely he would throw away any of the support he will undoubtedly garner by taking any action that could be construed as less than 100 percent union support.
His next executive order will likely direct some sort of protectionist legislation such as his most recent folly of insisting that all steel used in his forthcoming ill-conceived infrastructure rebuilding be made only in America. This legislation will undoubtedly bring retaliation from our global trading partners and will only further damage the valuable export business of the unionized manufacturers.
James P. Hoffa made a bold move in backing Barack H. Obama for president. But the strings attached to that endorsement are sufficient to choke any hope of a speedy economic recovery.
“Present day society is wholly based on the exploitation of the vast masses of the working class by a tiny minority of the population, the class of landowners and that of the capitalists. It is a slave society, since the “free” workers, who all their life work for the capitalists, are “entitled” only to such means of subsistence as are essential for the maintenance of slaves who produce profit, for the safeguarding and perpetuation of capitalist slavery” – Vladimir Lenin – 1905
