If in a free market it is ok for corporations to freely associate to lobby congress for their needs, why is it wrong for labor to do likewise?
Corporations often ask for silly things like corporate welfare, so it is no surprise that unions also ask for silly things.
Unless you are in favor of limiting the right of free association, then we have to deal with the fact that some idiots are going to be able to succeed in combining their efforts to cause government to support their stupidity.
The only real way to fight this is to decrease the overall size of government so there is less incentive for anyone, corporate or union, to bribe them into agreement.
Neither the Democrats or Republicans seems keen on this idea since big government is good for all politicians.
In a free market, the government is just one more thing that can be bought or sold to aid one competitor vis-a-vis another.
For no better reason than that Corps deserve NO special consideration from Govt anymore so than unions do.
Just as Corps wield more political influence than the individual due to the 10's of thousands they shower on pols for special treatment.
Both are dead wrong and totally conflict with the Founder's intent. Since when did Corps have a vote? They never have and never should.
We are a country of individuals, with Govt's role being specifically to protect the rights of individuals and nothing else or it wouldn't exist.
That we could have digressed so badly, the Founders well expected, and they took precautions which have since been trashed by judicial fiat and power mongering politicians.
Associations?? Heck yeah - let them form all manner of them, just don't let them buy off politicians.
Last I checked we are a nation of individuals whose Govt's only purpose was the protection of our rights.
We are the voters, not corps and unions who should NOT be able to buy favor for THEIR special interests with their greater ability to influence versus the individual.
I heartily agree that if Govt had remained it's limited constitutional self these issues would not exist.
Instead we have a system of the most perverse incentives imaginable that work directly against growth and free market incentive. Examples: 1) The employer deduction for health insurance - it enriches insurance co's. The employee might rather have the cash, but then will pay the taxes. MSA's solve this and remove the middleman. 2) Allowing illegal alien's babies automatic citizenship (the anchor for the whole family) - it incentivses exactly the opposite of what we want as do mandatory hospital services they get but we pay for. 3) Foreign aid to despots who work against the US. 4) Corporate subsidy 5) Welfare 6) Home mortgage deduction - it hurts renters but helps banks - and on and on.
Freedom is the negation of Govt as the Founders well understood who put the limits in we once enjoyed - on that we surely agree.
History is the big revealer, read up on the ICC, Rockefeller/Std Oil and his kickback scheme with the railroads. The railroad subsidy that led to malinvestment and the inability it created in competing with the fresh crop of small competitors. Which led Big Biz to beg for regulation and prices controls from it's bought Pols to the consumer's detriment.
This is good to know:
http://praxeology.net/RC-BRS.htm