I hate it when people mix quotes with their responses. Makes it very difficult to respond.
dbrault17:
I don't care if foreign carriers make a profit or not. I just want them to conform to the same safety standards that American carriers do, for the safety of the American consumer. Just as we have to do when we fly overseas. I think we'd both agree that American carriers are the safest in the world because of our safety rules
Cabotage shouldn't happen unless American carriers have equal access to foreign markets. And any carrier granted cabotage rights need to be completely independant (i.e not state supported). So rest easy, it seems unlikely that cabotage will happen anytime soon.
The american manufacturing middle class is the way it is precisely because american manufacturing couldn't compete for the average american middle class dollar. I've purchased one new car in my life, from a Japanese auto maker. I looked at American automakers, but on average a comparable car was several thousand dollars more than the one I ended up purchasing. I couldn't afford the American model.
You mentioned the NWA AMFA strike. How about UAL ALPA 1985? Eastern IAM 1989? AMR AFA 1993? NWA ALPA 1998? Comair ALPA 2001? It seems pretty obvious that labor has the advantage in labor disputes.
Giving it further thought, I concede your point about McCain-Lott. That is not government's role. On the other hand, it still is not right that government should enable the destruction of a company by its employees. Perhaps that is what the PEB is meant to prevent.
Your point about american workers being threatend with jail? What are you talking about? No one goes to jail because they choose not to work for a given price. No one makes an employee go to work if they don't want to. They're not indentured servants or slaves. They can quit anytime they want.
An employee is NOT a risk taker. By risk I mean investing money in a venture. Employees show up, do their job, and get paid. If the company doesn't make money, they still get paid. If the company shuts down, that employee still gets to keep every dollar he got paid for every minute he was on the job. An employee gets his salary regardless of the outcome of the work he performs. An owner/investor does not see a single dime until all the bills are paid, every employee has been compensated, and the company has shown a profit. If the company does not make it, then the worst that happens is that the employee has to find another job. Having to find another job is not risk. Losing all your money on a venture is. That's what happens to the owner/investor. So tell me again how a paid employee risks anything?
There are still plenty of people who take risks to make a successful business...now. But how many do you think there will be if our government enacts all of these "pro-labor" initiatives. If government legislation reduces the chance for profitability, and removes the risk/reward incentive, who do you think people will take the risk and start a business? If I know government legislation is likely going to prevent my business from succeeding, do you REALLY think I am still going to take a risk and start a business? Would you?
If front line workers want to share in the reward, then they need to be willing to share the risk. You hear all about employees getting profit sharing, but I never hear any employee giving money back to an employer in the event of financial loss. I do not consider salary concessions as giving back to the employer. The money is still flowing from employer to employee, just a little less. And that can be stopped at any time by the employee. When you get right down to basics, a profit is the owner's "paycheck." Now the employees, who already got paid for their labors, want to take the owner's paycheck on top of their own? Doesnt seem right to me.
Don't get me wrong. I am not against profit sharing. It's probably a smart business practice. But that's for the employer to decide, not for the employee to demand.
The bottom line for me is that I think Obama's "pro-labor" policies will, in the long run, hurt labor (and everyone) far more than it helps them. Because at the end of the day, it is the entrepenuer that creates jobs and wealth, not the government.
ffice
