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I submit that union work rules cost us more than union wages; that the threat and costs of lawsuits affect our manufactrurers, distributors, and resellers quite a bit increasing their costs, as well as the loss of risk taking and entreprenuership which give us new, cheaper products; that unnecessary regulations are a big impediment to our economic competitiveness; that high and misapplied taxes are a detriment to business; government subsidies distort the market and raise costs, tariffs on imports to protect special interests like coffe and sugar distort the market and trade; government involvement in hiring and firing practices distort business decisions; the costs of health care and other benefits are greatly increased by government polocies; and on and on. Wages are the least of these concerns in our business costs and competitiveness.

Disagree. Yes, there are many costs that go into a manufactured package, but by far the costs of salaries and wages together with the associated life, health and retirement packages make up the lion's share of costs. And with unions, the costs of health care and other benefits are greatly increased by the bargaining process, not governmental policies. Generally, the only place the government gets involved there is social security, 1/2 of which comes out of wages, and the funding for retirement plans. The government now requires that pension plans are actually funded rather than the creation of a debt note in the financials.

Lawsuits are problematic, but unless you are big tobacco, nothing like wages. Take a look at any annual report and look at the cost of sales, most of which is cost of goods manufactured. It can range from 1/2 to 80 percent of sales.

Again, I don't really care one way or the other, nor am I making value judgements about unions. They exist, and they drive up costs significantly. This includes union workrules which I consider part of salaries and wages.

You say you disagree but then you lump the cost of bennies, SS, and work rules with wages to get a total hourly burden. That is what I was saying, wages are just a small part of costs. There are many hidden costs that don't fit under "labor" on a spreadsheet.

Just a few small examples of hidden costs that come to mind are the outlawing of DDT and asbestos. Each of those are unnecessary government actions which increase the costs of American goods. Each requires that more expensive and less effective products be used in their stead. That raises the cost of goods sold.

With asbestos, sometime inert and harmless asbestos that is already in place in older buildings must be taken out and replaced. That costs money and the money must be recouped either in taxes or the price of goods.

The costly and time consuming process of getting new drugs and medical devices through to FDA approval raises the cost of medical care. That raises medical cost and must be recovered somewhere.

Medical care started rising sharply after approval of Medicare in 1965 and soon insurance rates started climbing to cover them. That raises the costs of employer provided health coverage and must be recovered in the costs of goods and services.

The Americans with Disabilities Act required costly and unnecessary modifications to parking places, entrance ramps, doorways, restrooms, and the workspace, even for companies who had no disabled workers nor customers or clients who entered the building. That cost has to be recovered in the cost of goods and services.

Many companies face frequent lawsuits that have no merit and pay settlements to avoid the lengthy and costly litigation. Those suits range from product liability, slipping in the parking lot, employee discrimination, employee disability, as well as product liability. That is not just with the "monsters" like big tobacco, it is with every kind of company.

Ask Jesse Jackson. He makes millions a year in just threatening discrimination suits. A company that is sued can be required to turn over almost every piece of paper ever produced internally just to comply with the plaintiffs discovery process. That is how Jackson hit Texaco for a big jackpot. Some employee had written a memo to another that had a hint of racial overtone and the whole company was branded as a result, saying it was corporate culture.

Another area is the government regulations dealing with employees, what an employer can and cannot do. That plus the threat of lawsuits gives rise to corporate policies that are counter productive and injurious to productivity. Employees are uncomfortable not knowing what they can say and do with each other. Many exploit that. Regardless, it is not condusive to high productivity.

Along that line there is another aspect of unions that kill our industries. Not only do the unions control the hiring and firing process, they have basically eliminated the firing process, they also say who can and cannot be promoted. The employer cannot choose the best person for a job, he must take the one with the most union seniority. That is not competitive.

Those are just a few of the things that increase our costs of providing goods and services but not nearly all.

I rest my case for awhile but I am willing to go on.Oh yes, some employees spend the bulk of their workday on FreeRepublic rather than working. That harms our productivity. :-)