Cato Journal: Fall 2015 Vol. 35 No. 3
Government Against Itself: Public Union Power and Its Consequences
Full Document Available in PDF This article was originally published in the Fall 2015 Edition of the Cato Institute’s Cato Journal.
The American Spectator
We Cheer for Michigan
What a difference. This week’s enactment of a right to work law by Michigan lawmakers comes only three years after the 2009 government-directed bankruptcies of…
Foundation for Economic Education
From the Sea, Freedom!
For as long as governments have overreached, people have sought escape. Indeed, some have dreamed of exiting the state completely. From the defunct Republic of…
Op-Eds
Best Practices for Reforming State Employee Pensions
Full Document Available in PDF Summary: Bloated pensions and retirement benefits for unionized government employees threaten the finances of states and localities…
Daily Caller
Left Banks With SEIU
Some prominent Democratic and progressive groups — including the Democratic National Committee, Democratic Governors Association, and America Votes — are shifting accounts, or at least…
Washington Post
Letter to the Editor: Why Politicians Answer to Unions
George F. Will’s discussion of grossly excessive public employee compensation [“Rahm and the teachers,” op-ed, July 5] rightly noted that unions exist to…
American Enterprise Institute
More Than Good Enough for Government Work
The American is the official magazine of the American Enterprise Institute. State lawmakers face an uphill battle in trying to bring their governments’…
Forbes
Ma Bell’s Long Legacy of Unsustainable Pensions Is Alive and Well
“Communism,” comedian Lenny Bruce once quipped, “is like one big phone company.” This dated joke refers to the monolithic phone company known as “Ma Bell,”…
Capital Research
The Battle for New England
Full Document Available in PDF New England is generally considered among the most leftleaning regions of the country. This perception is largely…
Forbes
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s Real Crisis
On February 1, American Airlines—which declared bankruptcy last November—announced plans to end defined benefit pensions as part of its Chapter 11 restructuring plan. If approved…
The American Spectator
Busting Union Reform
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is touting the recent passage of his "compromise" bill reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration, the agency that oversees U.S. air…
The American Spectator
Obama’s Big Labor Wins a Big One
Unions have been disappointed by the Obama administration's inability to move their agenda forward. But they finally won a victory last week. This is bad…
The American Spectator
Ambush Election Prevention
Imagine voting in a presidential election where one candidate can campaign for a year and the other is only told he is running a week…
Forbes
Two Cheers For A Big U.S. Trade Deficit
News that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed this summer has brought the usual cheers from commentators. The Associated Press celebrated, noting, “[A] narrowing…
The American Spectator
Obama’s Favorite Union Heavies
Unions thrive on workplace conflict. The AFL-CIO, for example, sponsors a "Bad Boss Contest," which awards the employee who submits the best story…
The American Spectator
Unionization Via Regulation
Are unions desperate? When it comes to reviving their fortunes in the private sector, it certainly seems that way. Union leaders, unable to reverse…
Real Clear Markets
The NLRB Overreaches – Once Again
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has gone lawsuit crazy. With the U.S. House of Representatives now under Republican control, the Board is now…
Washington Examiner
Regulations are Politicians’ (and Lobbyists’) Best Friends
The annual ritual of calculating taxes and rushing to file is upon us today. And it is hardly news that the ever-increasing complexity of the…
The American Spectator
How Regulations Add to the Cost of Government
As many of us rush to finish filling out our tax returns, we should remember that what we pay out in taxes — and how…
The American Spectator
Unionization Through Regulation
Changing election rules to favor one side is something we usually associate with dictatorships. Yet a U.S. federal agency did just that recently, as…
Washington Times
UAW Doesn’t Care What You Think
United Auto Workers (UAW) President Bob King recently pledged $60 million of his union’s money to pressure foreign automakers into unionizing their employees. He…
Washington Times
Democrats Diverging From Unions
Government employee unions have long been one of the Democratic Party’s most loyal and dedicated constituencies. For years, Democratic politicians have supported public employee unions’…
Washington Times
Big Labor May Still Reap Benefits Despite Election Losses
Organized labor’s fears were realized Tuesday when Republicans won a decisive majority in the House, almost eviscerated the Democrat majority in the Senate and picked…
Washington Times
Welcome Back, Congressional Review Act
The Obama administration, congressional Democrats, and their organized labor allies threaten to exacerbate the economy’s weakness by expanding the size of government by leaps and…
Washington Times
California’s Union War
Voting began Monday in one of the most disputed union elections in recent years. The contest pits the powerful Service Employees International Union…
Washington Times
Mary Kay Henry Takes over SEIU
Full document available in pdf Originally appeared in…
Washington Times
Dems Giving Support to Yet Another Union Bailout
The so-called Create Jobs and Save Benefits Act of 2010, introduced by Sen. Robert Casey (D-Pa.), got a huge boost when Senate Majority Whip Dick…
Washington Times
The New King of Detroit
Yesterday, the United Auto Workers union (UAW) named Bob King as its new president. Does this mean a change in direction for one of…
Washington Times
Halter’s Loss a Major Blow for Big Labor
Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter’s failure to win his state’s Democratic nomination was a crushing defeat for organized labor, which went all-out…
Washington Times
Administration Keeping Cozy with Union Bosses
President Barack Obama has appointed Service Employees International Union President Andrew Stern to a new commission tasked with coming up with recommendations…
Washington Times
Administration Keeping Cozy with Union Bosses
President Barack Obama has appointed Service Employees International Union President Andrew Stern to a new commission tasked with coming up with recommendations to…
The Economist
Letter to the Editor in the Economist
SIR – Public-sector unions have entrenched their privileges through a combination of political dynamics that have proven extremely difficult to overcome. For example,…
The Cato Institute
Vallejo Con Dios
Full Study Available In PDF Study Co-Authored by: Don Bellante and David Denholm Rates of unionization in the United States today are…
Investors' Business Daily
Memo to Spitzer: It’s Not Your Money
Disgraced former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer went on a rant last week. Hurling half-truths and red herring arguments in an article for Slate, he…
American Spectator
Big Labor’s Benefits
Are unions giving Democrats a free pass on card check? At first look, it appears that way.
American Spectator
Sticks and Stones
The Stoning of Soraya M. is a difficult film to watch, but worth taking the time to do so. The film, which opens today, depicts…
RealClear Markets
Fix Social Security, Ease the Credit Crisis
Remember the looming Social Security crisis? If you don’t, you’re not alone. The credit crisis and economic downturn have monopolized public attention to…
American Spectator
A Good Time to Start Liquidating
The announcements by Senators Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) and BlancheLincoln (D-Ark.) that they intend to vote against cloture on theso-called Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) has…
Op-Eds
Union Pension Funds Go Green — But It’s Not the Color of Money
Labor unions are endangering their members' retirement security by using their pension funds for environmental activism.
Op-Eds
What Big Labor Wants
In honor of Labor Day…
Op-Eds
The Television Writers Strike: Was It Worth It?
This winter’s strike by television writers interrupted the TV-watching habits of millions of people worldwide. But why did it happen, and did the…
Op-Eds
Hungarian Original
On a hot June day beneath a searing sun, California Democratic Congressman Tom Lantos, who passed away this week, joined President Bush and others,…
Op-Eds
What Race to the Bottom?
Free trade creates new opportunities, jobs, and value for consumers. Now will someone please tell Congress? As it begins its new session, Congress’s agenda…
Op-Eds
The Conspiracy to Deny the Poor Mobility – and Opportunity
Mobility is prosperity—a fact that humans have recognized since the dawn of civilization, when population centers arose next to navigable waterways. Yet this simple…
Op-Eds
Unions Grasp for Influence Over Private Equity
Mention the names of certain large corporations, and many people think bad things—from ExxonMobil gouging drivers with high gas prices to Wal-Mart destroying city…
Op-Eds
Unions Grasp for Influence Over Private Equity
Summary: When private equity firms buy up companies they expect to avoid shareholder pressure campaigns—especially those devised by labor unions. Or so they hope.
Op-Eds
War Over The War
When Ken Burns releases a documentary, America watches. This is partly because of his uniquely compelling style, but also partly because his stories are those…
Op-Eds
Seeking to Expand Ranks and Increase Salaries, Not Improve Education
With Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate, the nation’s teachers unions are certain to make major demands on their Capitol Hill…
Op-Eds
It’s Miller Time
Union organizers never, ever intimidate workers whom they are trying to recruit. Believe me? Great! I've got a bridge to sell you. Sound…
Op-Eds
The Union of Concerned Scientists: Its Jihad against Climate Skeptics
Full document available in pdf Among the activist groups seeking to stifle dissent in the global warming debate, none has been more…