10/05/2012 - Myclipp

efore Reagan was elected and has declined steadily
since. In 1979, before he took office, there were 15
million union members in the private sector -- more
than 20 percent of the workforce. By 2007, there were
only 9 million members, despite a 40 percent increase
in the workforce -- a representation of only 8 percent of
the workforce. The defeat of private-sector unions
reduced their clout within the Democratic Party. The
success of the U.S. economy prior to the financial
crisis further reduced employment concerns among
voters. The Democratic Party shifted its focus to
growing public-sector unions that were less concerned
about open trade borders and government-mandated
private-sector work rules and cared more about
growing government employment. Democratic
lawmakers and their public-union supporters recognize
that consumers (voters) ultimately bear the increased
cost of private-sector unions, closed trade borders,
and the restriction on trade necessary to maintain
them. They result in higher prices, slower growth, and
less employment. Why would public-sector unions bite
the hand that feeds them? Unlike private-sector
unions, they have not pushed for these inefficiencies.
(Edward Conard was a partner at Bain Capital LLC
Bloomberg/ - Politics, Seg, 14 de Maio de 2012
CLIPPING INTERNACIONAL (Supreme Court)
from 1993 to 2007. This is the second of two excerpts
from his new book, “Unintended Consequences: Why
Everything You’ve Been Told About the Economy Is
Wrong,” available now as an e-book to be published in
hardcover on June 7 from Portfolio, a member of
Penguin Group (USA) Inc. The opinions expressed are
his own. Read Part 1.) Read more opinion online from
Bloomberg View. Today’s highlights: The View editors
on French-Turkish relations and the lessons of
JPMorgan; William Pesek on online banking in Asia;
Jeffrey Goldberg on Obama and Iran; Ramesh
Ponnuru on driving while distracted; Betsey Stevenson
and Justin Wolfers on the economics of gay marriage;
Tim Judah on Serbia’s elections and Rachelle
Bergstein on women’s shoes and war. To contact the
writer of this article: Edward Conard at
edwardconard@gmail.com. To contact the editor
responsible for this article: Max Berley at
mberley@bloomberg.net Facebook Share Tweet
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