Comments on: Unions: Outdated and Unnecessary http://blog.dailynexus.com/shallow/politicsetal/unions-outdated-and-unnecessary/ The official blog of UC Santa Barbara's newspaper, the Daily Nexus. Sun, 18 Dec 2011 02:33:42 +0000 hourly 1 By: Jeff Nettleton http://blog.dailynexus.com/shallow/politicsetal/unions-outdated-and-unnecessary/comment-page-1/#comment-7310 Jeff Nettleton Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:48:01 +0000 http://www.dailynexus.com/dnb/?p=762#comment-7310 Additionally, the "issue" of illegal immigrants could be largely remedied if instead of sitting by idly and complaining about their being "parasites" on our society and clamoring for their immediate deportation, their presence in our country was legitimized and their income taxed. I'm not saying that they all need to become citizens, but if they were allowed to be registered as legal workers without the ever-present fear of deportation, and guaranteed the same basic rights and minimum wages as other Americans, then instead of getting two dollars an hour cash under the table, they could be paid a subsistence wage which could then be taxed and therefore contribute to the economy of both California and the country as a whole. People aren't parasites, parasites are creatures that survive solely by taking advantage of some aspect of another creature's existence. Illegal immigrants are people, just like you and me, that unfortunately are stuck between a rock and a hard place, trying to provide for their families and themselves in a country that they came to for its promise. Additionally, the “issue” of illegal immigrants could be largely remedied if instead of sitting by idly and complaining about their being “parasites” on our society and clamoring for their immediate deportation, their presence in our country was legitimized and their income taxed. I’m not saying that they all need to become citizens, but if they were allowed to be registered as legal workers without the ever-present fear of deportation, and guaranteed the same basic rights and minimum wages as other Americans, then instead of getting two dollars an hour cash under the table, they could be paid a subsistence wage which could then be taxed and therefore contribute to the economy of both California and the country as a whole. People aren’t parasites, parasites are creatures that survive solely by taking advantage of some aspect of another creature’s existence. Illegal immigrants are people, just like you and me, that unfortunately are stuck between a rock and a hard place, trying to provide for their families and themselves in a country that they came to for its promise.

]]> By: Jeff Nettleton http://blog.dailynexus.com/shallow/politicsetal/unions-outdated-and-unnecessary/comment-page-1/#comment-7309 Jeff Nettleton Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:36:42 +0000 http://www.dailynexus.com/dnb/?p=762#comment-7309 "Workers deserve a living wage, that is true, but what is also true is that a man should be entitled to what he earns. The government should not be in the business of redistributing wealth, and, rather than encouraging dependence and an unproductive existence, as Obama wants the government to do, it should instead provide equality of opportunity and a fair playing field, and encourage productivity and enterprise." Equality of opportunity is a farcical notion at its very core. Regardless of how equal opportunities are, there are so many factors that can enable one to take advantage of their opportunities to a greater extent than another that at the end of the line, what it really boils down to is not what opportunities are available to someone, but what assets they have in their life that allow them to capitalize on their opportunities. No matter how hard a child in a family of five with a single mother that works paycheck to paycheck tries, the likelihood that they will end up on top is exponentially lower than that of a child who begins life with everything. Government should be obligated to provide equality of outcome, with free schooling from childhood onwards, whether it be university or vocational school, free and equitable healthcare, among a host of other things. Unions should be unnecessary, for the workplaces which employ union labor should be nationalized to nullify competition and ensure equality and fairness. Bollocks to those who say that government corporations are always doomed to inefficiency and bureaucratic deadlock; if the focus is always on decentralization and efficiency, there should never be an issue. The In-N-Out Corporation is the perfect example of an entirely vertically integrated entity that runs beautifully. You are trying to create equality in an inherently inequitable and flawed system, as opposed to viewing the problem through another lens. In conclsion, it's not the unions that are the problem, but the system that systematically attempts at every turn to take advantage of it's constituents rather than assist them in their every need. “Workers deserve a living wage, that is true, but what is also true is that a man should be entitled to what he earns. The government should not be in the business of redistributing wealth, and, rather than encouraging dependence and an unproductive existence, as Obama wants the government to do, it should instead provide equality of opportunity and a fair playing field, and encourage productivity and enterprise.”

Equality of opportunity is a farcical notion at its very core. Regardless of how equal opportunities are, there are so many factors that can enable one to take advantage of their opportunities to a greater extent than another that at the end of the line, what it really boils down to is not what opportunities are available to someone, but what assets they have in their life that allow them to capitalize on their opportunities. No matter how hard a child in a family of five with a single mother that works paycheck to paycheck tries, the likelihood that they will end up on top is exponentially lower than that of a child who begins life with everything.

Government should be obligated to provide equality of outcome, with free schooling from childhood onwards, whether it be university or vocational school, free and equitable healthcare, among a host of other things. Unions should be unnecessary, for the workplaces which employ union labor should be nationalized to nullify competition and ensure equality and fairness. Bollocks to those who say that government corporations are always doomed to inefficiency and bureaucratic deadlock; if the focus is always on decentralization and efficiency, there should never be an issue. The In-N-Out Corporation is the perfect example of an entirely vertically integrated entity that runs beautifully. You are trying to create equality in an inherently inequitable and flawed system, as opposed to viewing the problem through another lens.

In conclsion, it’s not the unions that are the problem, but the system that systematically attempts at every turn to take advantage of it’s constituents rather than assist them in their every need.

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