Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Speaking of new books on Amazon...

Linda Chavez has written an exciting but disturbing book, Betrayal : How Union Bosses Shake Down Their Members and Corrupt American Politics, on the shady influence of unions on American politics. It has very little to do with the wishes of the union rank-and-file and everything to do with the preservation of power for the union bosses. The sad thing is that the rhetoric is so thick coming down from the top bosses that the average union guy doesn't know what is going on. Like Kerry and Edwards really care at all about the union member. My wife had a great analogy, they are like the old Soviet politburo that lived in fancy houses and had chauffeur driven cars while everyone else lived in squalor and worked to support the system. In a capitalistic system, there does exist a strata of wealth but mobility is possible both up and down the ladder. Under the Kedwards model there is a tiny elite of the very wealthy (politicians, Hollywood entertainers, lawyers, "intellectuals" and bureaucrats) and the worker bees produce for the benefit of the elite with no chance of advancement. Which is the more humane system?

No comments: