Quote:
Originally posted by Spanky
Unions don't care about overall growth. If the economy is growing, and creating new jobs, that does not help the unions. They need the old jobs not to be threatened. Change is their worst nightmare. Businesses are not altruistic, and when they are out for the own interest the don't push for good laws. It is the Business Community in General that pushes for good law, not because their are altruistic, but it is just generally what is good for the business community is good for America because it is the business community that provides the growth.
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Yes, but the "business community" does very little lobbying -- virtually none compared to the amount done by individual companies and sectors, virtually all of which are happy to have protectionist, anti-growth legislation. If the makers of buggy-whips had had a good lobbyist....
Lobbyists like the Chamber of Commerce can be pro-growth in a beneficial way. But they can also be anti-tax (i.e., pro-deficit), anti-worker safety, anti-environment, and pro-welfare (i.e., oppose increasing the minimum wage or providing health insurance and let gov't bear the burden) in ways that are very damaging.
I agree with you in general about a lot of union lobbying, but I'm sure glad for some of the basic worker safety and safety net legislation that unions helped bring about.
Business lobbyists can also be as hostile to change as unions, because the business community is often very short-sighted. Environmental laws and regs, for example, are seen as a threat to existing business rather than as an opportunity for new businesses to be created. The reason behind seems obvious -- the Chamber of Commerce is funded by existing business, not by those that may be created in the future.
