[bomelia]

I for one am trying to be very careful here. I realize that some folks here may be union members. So I do not want to insult anyone. At some point, you have to take a good step back to get some perspective on this. The auto industries collapsed for a number of reasons. Union issues are among the top reasons, but so was bad management. When the government got into the mix and started regulating corporations, a distortion in the free market system occured. Many understood this, but accepted it as needed. Unions are a distortion in the free market system, but again, many accepted them as needed. Over time new rules, more regulation, and more union power continued to distort the system. Like a frog being boiled slowly in water, everyone got used to it and even began to conform to it. The culture changed in management. When someone rose through the ranks to become a powerful part of management, then you have union mentality in the management ranks. Eventually, neither could exist without the other. Each became the other's means to an end... and those ends were not always in the best interest of the industry. Management became worried about funding pension plans (that could not possibly be funded unless someone ran a Ponzi scheme) instead of figuring out how to build better cars and anticpate the market direction. Eventually, it all collapsed just like a Ponzi scheme. This it what happens in a true democracy. And this is why representive type governing is better (be it management vs employees or some kind of government). When the masses can figure out how to vote themselves a pay raise from the general fund, its game over.



Mike