A Message To The Council On Jobs And Competitiveness

The new TPGOP Governors would like us to believe that they care about us. Our feelings, how the world treats us, just what kind of shake we're getting. To prove it they say things like 'Why should state employees get things that other working people don't get." "Regular people don't get such good health care plans from their employers or such nice pensions, plus they don't get to participate in collective bargaining". To prove just how much they care the TPGOP Governors are going to make sure that state employees health care and retirement plans suck just as much as average American's do, freeze salaries and do away with negotiation in favor of a 'take it or leave it' style of management.

Personally, I don't feel good about someone else getting screwed. My sense of Schadenfreude is poorly developed. I think that the state employees are like canaries over the mouth of a hell we will all have to live with, but more on this in a moment.

The TPGOP state and Federal shock troops, er Representatives, are worried about us real American's too. They are busy working to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act (because it's better we be denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition than be exposed to a whiff of nationalized medicine), assure billionaires are taxed less than the rest of us, and privatize Social Security.  The TPGOP ' agenda can easily be called  the 'take it or leave it' style of politics.

Seems to me that if we let the Governors knock state workers down to size the 112th Congress will be able to work you and me over pretty well too. We can't fool ourselves into thinking that we will be untouched by these changes if we own a small business or are a first or second tier 'master of the universe': financial market smoke signals say the TPGOP agenda is bad for business.  Goldman Sachs, who are at least honest about only being in it for the money, published a private memo this week telling their private customers that the "House spending cuts would hurt economic growth". The House is spending much more time on values based budget cuts than in exploring expansion of programs that would stimulate the economy for the long term. Creating an environment that encourages job creation or preservation seems to be the last thing on their minds, but is precisely what we need most from our Government, now and in the long-term.

During the recession Germany and Japan lost fewer jobs than the US. One reason cited by economists is the style of corporate governance practiced in those countries. Rather than corporate boards made up entirely of inside and outside 'C' level executives these countries follow models that include employees and/or citizens on boards, and in the case of Germany outside directors who are more genuinely outside.  I want the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness to take a serious look at the American model of corporate governance if they are able to be objective. This is an area that can have a profound effect on the vitality of American business.

Now, back to taking joy in other's misfortunes. First off, let us agree that unions are neither all good or all bad, rather there are good contracts and poorly thought out contracts. At the summary level the purpose of collective bargaining is to allow employees to communicate a focused set of concerns to management for the purpose of good faith negotiations. What we lack in the US today, thanks to the war on labor Reagan began with the PATCO terminations and supply-side economics, is good faith. The TPGOP, not satisfied with creating an obscure class of real Americans we can aspire to be, wants us to hate our neighbors who are in unions because they are getting a better deal then we are. The question is, why don't we go out and get a better deal for ourselves and help our neighbors keep what they've got?  It would undoubtedly be better for the long-term economy and better for our souls.