Posted on 01/12/2006 6:48:25 PM PST by calcowgirl
Small business beware, your larger cousin, big-business has dropped their arrows, washed off their war paint and even shot their horses (presumably for food since there will be a long cold winter ahead).
Recent media reports suggest that business and industry in California are no longer going to put up a fight against union demands that hurt our overall economy and end up costing jobs.
Bill Dombrowski is the President and CEO of the California Retailers Association. He recently told the Orange County Register that the governor's proposal to increase the minimum wage in the state by $1 an hour is, "a good move."
The last thing small business needs is increased pressure from government imposed wage increases coupled with the workers compensation costs that go side-by side. This will cripple some small to medium sized businesses. It was a curious thing to me why big-retail would sell themselves short (government imposed wage hikes hurt their bottom lines too).
The governor's proposal solidifies to me that he has worn out his welcome in the GOP. By allowing the unions to pressure him into Eastern Block-style wage policies, he has proven he cannot be relied upon to veto even the worst of the worst, the black and white, good versus evil policy proposals.
In another sign that business has given up, the California Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable have publicly stated that they would not support another Proposition 75-type ballot initiative that would limit public employee unions from raiding the pockets of their membership for political purposes. They said, "It would be counterproductive to solving the state's problems…" This message was sent loud and clear in late 2005 so that the unions would not submit the signatures for their competing initiative that was an attack on corporate political giving.
That statement clearly sounds like big business was speaking out of fear, thinking they had a gun pointed straight at them. Some would say that the Chamber crowd was being cautious or pragmatic. Mr. Dombrowski suggests they have to "pick their poison" because alternate proposals by unions call for much steeper hikes in the minimum wage.
This lack of willingness on the part of Cal Chamber and the Retail Association to stand up for the rights of their members' and their real interests cannot be explained away by the suggestion that their policy choices are based solely on calculating the risk of the worse case scenario and then accepting something slightly better but still really really bad. Industry needs to stand strong in the face of dangerous public policy. If they don't, their memberships will shrink because the value of being a member will be less and less.
The lone sane voice on the issue is Senate Minority Leader Dick Ackerman who has defended the true pro-business, pro-worker position of limiting government's involvement in wage matters. His understands and fears the impact of forces wage hikes: fewer jobs, businesses going under and others leaving the state.
The only utility for pragmatism would be if there were truly some new set of ground rules--a real change in how public policy is made in California. But that has not happened. The unions will continue to bully the legislature to get their way. Not to fight, not to keep at the battle, to simply lay down their arms and hope for sunshine tomorrow is an unrealistic approach.
Today's uncomfortable peace between the collective worker and employer is neither sweet nor helpful in the long term. It is merely a chance for union leaders to plan their next assault on unsuspecting, hard-working California workers and small business.
Pollster Adam Probolsky heads the opinion survey firm of Probolsky Research and is a contributor to flashreport.org.
"It was a curious thing to me why big-retail would sell themselves short (government imposed wage hikes hurt their bottom lines too). "
Throw the weaker ones out to appease the wolves.
Big Business and Big Government often make common cause against their common enemy: Small Business. Big Business hates the competition, Big Government hates the fact that Small Business proves capitalism works and keeps employees from joining Big Business unions where they can be turned into quasi-government dependents...and make Big campaign contributions to Big Government. ;)
Where I live. :-)
Cheers!
The obvious suspicion is that they have someone in their pocket and don't need to publicly strut. Wonder who that might be?
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