Longshoremen strike

[Adam Smith]

Originally posted by Sten Sture Effectively both the Union and the Company are monopolies who can charge unbelievable rates because of the exorbitant cost of going around them. This is particularly fascinating because the primary asset they are monopolising is a government constructed deep water port, built and subsidized with taxpayer's money.

The Pacific Maritime Association is the labor negotiating arm of the ocean carriers. The carriers belong to the Pacific Carriers Conference, which is effectively a government sanctioned cartel. Under the law which created the Federal Maritime Administration, carriers get an antitrust exemption which allows them to jointly discuss rates, routes, capacity, terms of service, etc. .... discussions which would get them thrown in jail if they were in virtually any other industry. The only saving grace is that while it is profitable to join a cartel, it is even more porfitable to cheat on one. Several carriers, such as Evergreen, make a habit of cheating on the collusive agreements, which pushes prices closer toward the competitive level.

[The Mad Monk]

Hurrah Evergreen!

[Roland]

Che: "It was high union wages that turn this country around. High union wages mean more money is in circulation, which means more jobs are created."



I always love it when Commies sound like Greenspan and his Wallstreet crowd.

So, summary: Parasitic union abusing closed shop vs management hoping for the nannystate. Ah, the wonders of a free market economy...

[chequita guevara]

Greenspan is opposed to good wages. That's why he killed the economy two years ago by raising interest rates even as investment was declining. He said that there were danger of wages going to high and raising inflation (even though there was no evidence of that).

[Roland]

Of course Greenspan is against high wages, he's a corporate puppet after all. But he loves loads of money in circulation.

[Timexwatch]

Greenspan is the Don Quixote of economics...always chasing the inflation dragon. Too bad he missed the IT bubble and is apparently missing the housing bubble.

On an economic side-note, has anyone else read the Economist Survey on the recession? At the first mention of doom and gloom and Austrian Economics, I thought, "Since when did Roland join the Editorial Board?"

[Roland]

Haven't read the Economist for months. Funny how suddenly the good ol' Austrians get attention after the Keynesians can no longer explains things....

[Winston]

Originally posted by Sten Sture

This might be a good time for Winston to do a Marsk audit...

Not my table anymore, I was laid off in May. With three year's full pay.

[chequita guevara]

The Economist has always been gloom and doom.

[Urban Ranger]

Dubya did it. Say bye to the support GOP is seeking from the dock workers.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Roland
Haven't read the Economist for months. Funny how suddenly the good ol' Austrians get attention after the Keynesians can no longer explains things....

The Economist has been always of the neo-classical school.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Dubya did it. Say bye to the support GOP is seeking from the dock workers.

All couple thousand dock workers? How tragic.

I think Bush got more votes than lost by saving lots of people's asses who rely on just in time manufacturing.

[Urban Ranger]

I thought Conservatives are always against government interventions?

[Asher]

It wouldn't be the first time you were wrong about something.

[Urban Ranger]

It appears that the conservatives - at least some of them - are not against government interventions when said interventions are in favour of businesses.