This my second post on the economy. The first was about why I thought the economy was failing. With the automobile industry issues, I thought I would talk more about the economy.
I think part of the problem with the auto industry is the union. They are ahving to pay so much to people who aren't working that they can't break even. The only way they are going to get out of this problem is to declare bankruptcy. But, as the guy on our local talk radio station said yesterday, being bankrupt may mean fewer people will buy the cars for fear that the warranties will be worthless and parts won't be available in the future. But, I think they have to go bankrupt because people now aren't sure about buying from them.
Am I against unions? In a way, yes. I am under union contracts at my job althoughI am not a member of the union. I get paid the same as everyone else. It makes me less motivated to go above and beyond what I am required to do. Why should I spend a lot of time and energy if I am gong to have little to nothing to show for it? If we didn't have a union, then maybe our salaries could be based off of performance. But, then again in education, performance is very hard to measure. So, it might not work that way either...
So, how do you propose that we fix the economy? Do we just let it run its course and self-correct itself? Do we have the government put money into a lot of businesses? What should we do?
1 comment:
I have nooooo idea what to do about the economy. I was watching something that talked about an economic theory that has to do with spontaneous behavior and that it will find order. The piece was arguing against the amount of regulation and interference that is happening in the financial realm. I don't know if it is accurate, but it was interesting.
I think that unions, like so many things, had a time and a purpose when they were very helpful and maybe essential. Unfortunately, I think that these types of non-living entities take on a life of their own. It seems like at some point they exist to maintain their existence. I know my uncle somehow managed to stay out of the teacher's union for years. He kept his head down low and no one noticed. I don't know that it would be possible today.
It is all such a hard call to make, I think.
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