This page was last updated on March 17, 2011.
GOP is taking us back in time; Jesse Green, Jr.; Beaver County Times; March 17, 2011.
Some previous letters from Mr. Green are here, here, here, here, here, and here.
As you read the letter below, keep in mind Mr. Green believes disagreement with President Obama’s policies is the result of racism.
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“In some states, Wisconsin and Ohio to name a few, the Republican Tea Party is finding success in taking our country back.”
[RWC] As you read the letter, keep in mind “Wisconsin and Ohio to name a few” (couple?) are about public-sector labor unions yet, as another of today’s writers, Mr. Green writes solely about private-sector unions.
What did FDR and George Meany think of public-sector unions? FDR (patron saint of lefties) opposed public-sector labor unions. In a 1937 letter to Luther C. Steward (President of the National Federation of Federal Employees), FDR wrote, “… meticulous attention should be paid to the special relationships and obligations of public servants to the public itself and to the Government. All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management.” Likewise, George Meany (first president of the AFL-CIO, 1955-1979) opposed collective bargaining for public sector employees.
When politicians negotiate with labor union management, they negotiate with people who will return part of what they win to the politicians via taxpayer-funded campaign contributions. It’s called a conflict of interest. There’s a reason 93% of labor union management PAC contributions to federal candidates (over $62 million) went to Democrat candidates in 2010.
I don’t know what the “Republican Tea Party” is. Far too many elected Republicans still haven’t received the message.
The rest of this letter is about trying to scare readers into believing Republican policies will take us back over 100 years. This is interesting because last year Mr. Green wrote, “One tool the rich use to keep the masses under control is fear.” Should we assume Mr. Green is one of “the rich?”
“Back to the good old days when paying taxes was for little people, when brutal employers worked employees 14-16 hours a day, seven days a week, when union members were beaten, even killed, by company goons.”
RWC] “Back to the good old days when,” according to the Tax Foundation, total taxes as a percent of income was only 5.9% in 1900. It was as high as 34% in 2000.
“Back to the days when working people couldn’t afford to sent [sic] their children to college or take a hard-earned vacation, when health care was an unaffordable luxury, when soup kitchens fed hundreds.”
[RWC] “Back to the days when” at least three of my four grandparents (including both grandfathers) didn’t attend or graduate from high school or trade schools. They raised their families in the late 1800s and early 1900s, before social programs. Both households were single-income and neither of my grandfathers worked at “skilled” labor or high-paying jobs. Despite that, they eventually managed to own their homes and saw to it all their children either went to college (Carnegie Tech) or trade school (Grace Martin Secretarial School), even during the Great Depression. They also managed to prepare adequately for retirement.
“Decent-paying jobs are being outsourced because companies refuse to pay their fair share.”
[RWC] I believe Mr. Green meant “offshoring,” not “outsourcing.” Outsourcing is when a business contracts with another business to perform some functions. For example, a business may contract with a janitorial business for cleaning services instead of doing the cleaning with its own employees.
It’s not clear what Mr. Green meant when he asserts “companies refuse to pay their fair share.” If Mr. Green is talking about taxes, businesses operating in the U.S. pay the highest rates out of the 31 OECD countries. If Mr. Green is talking about compensation, a business can only pay the economic value of a job.
“These practices aren’t about bringing down the nation’s debt. They’re about corporate greed and eliminating the so-called middle class.”
[RWC] Let me get this straight. Businesses do what they do because they want to eliminate their customers?
Businesses have a fiduciary responsibility to their owners (including you, me, and pension funds). This is true even for not-for-profit businesses. Businesses make the decisions they need to in order to survive and succeed. Otherwise, they close up shop and/or go into bankruptcy. Unlike the federal government, businesses can’t print money. Would Mr. Green prefer businesses continue to operate in the U.S. until they (we shareholders) go bust? Let’s say Mr. Green owns and/or runs a company with 1,000 domestic employees and despite his best efforts it’s about to go under. Let’s also say offshoring the jobs of 100 employees would save the other 900 jobs. What would Mr. Green do? Let’s say Mr. Green’s business uses steel to manufacture its products but can no longer compete using U.S.-produced steel. Would Mr. Green put his 1,000 employees out of work instead of buying less expensive foreign steel, possibly resulting in a loss of jobs at the domestic steel supplier?
Consider the following quote of Samuel Gompers: “The worst crime against working people is a company that fails to operate at a profit.” Mr. Gompers was a father of the American labor movement, founder of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), and AFL president for 38 years until his death.
“We’re fast becoming a nation of haves and have-nots. The American dream of owning a home and being able to educate your children, of being able to put a little aside for retirement is fast evaporating.”
[RWC] Last year Mr. Green told us “America has become a country of the haves and have-nots.” Since now we’re only “fast becoming a nation of haves and have-nots” and apparently not there yet, does that mean we’re making progress? Did Mr. Green work on John Edwards’ (D-NC) presidential campaign?
“As the gap between the wealthy and poor ever increases and oil and gas barons hold the rest of the nation hostage, Republican Tea Party members can pat themselves on the back and say, ‘Yes, we are taking our country back.’”
[RWC] Given his theme of “back to the days,” instead of “oil and gas barons” wouldn’t “robber barons” have been more apropos?
© 2004-2011 Robert W. Cox, all rights reserved.