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http://www.alternet.org/rights/151108/why_the_democratic_party_has_abandoned_the_middle_class_in_favor_of_the_rich/?page=entire

Snark: For people who don't care about money, the "left" sure spends a lot of time worrying about money--other people's money, and how to get their hands on it.

If rich people own most of the businesses, generate most of the GDP and pay most of the taxes, it's hardly a surprise that the politicians respond to them.

The unions shot themselves in the head repeatedly in the 70s, insisting that the US should just practice isolationism and pay semi-skilled workers a "living wage" that in some areas is more than that earned by degreed professionals--doctors, engineers. A decade later, Japan owned the steel, auto and electronic industries because they had the work ethic without the greed.

This is not to say we should emulate Japan. But that was the threat at the time, and the unions failed to even acknowledge it, much less respond.

I worked at FedEx during the UPS strike, when the Teamsters spent 6 months trying very hard to convince FedEx employees to unionize. They offered a deal that was actually LESS beneficial than FedEx already delivered. Then they made their power grab on the freight industry, only to harm UPS's market share and employees, while empowering FedEx and several small, now large, trucking firms, who responded to the crisis.

A decade later, I found out the key bargaining point was control of pension funds, which is possibly a good idea. However, that's not what they presented, not what they fought, and not what they accomplished.

The unions have failed at least as much as the parties.

In the meantime, American Idle is sure raking in the bucks from the morons, isn't it? How many of those viewers can name a single Senator or Justice?

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And this is on top of the numerous naive elements of the "Story."