Slippery Cenk Suggests Public Employees Need Unions To Negotiate With 'Corporate Executives'
James Taranto could be the best columnist around. Every day at his Best of the Web at the Wall Street Journal online, Taranto turns out an original, often unconventional, conservative take on the news, regularly managing to leaven the message with humor.
Rush today rightly extolled Taranto's column of yesterday, in which he made the point that there is a vast, inherent difference between private and public sector unions. In the former case, unions are negotiating against corporate interests. In the latter, unions are, by definition, organizing against the interests of the public itself.
Surely even Cenk Uygur understands this. So when Cenk suggests, as he did on his MSNBC show this evening, that without unions public employees would be "at the mercy" of "corporate executives," it seems fair to accuse him of . . . fraud.
Marvel at Cenk's three-card monty as he tries to pull the union wool over viewers' eyes. [Apologies for the video quality. Still getting up to speed in Texas, and actually resorted to using my iPod to videotape the show off the TV screen! Ain't technology great?]
Note: of course even the notion that unionless workers are powerless vis a vis private-sector employees is false. The laws of supply and demand continue to apply to non-unionized workers. Uygur's example of an employer simply firing a non-unionized employee seeking higher wages and replacing him with someone else is only true if the wage being demanded is above the market and the wage being offerred is at least at the market .
- Mark Finkelstein's blog
- Login to post comments
Comments
People don't need unions.
Submitted by Ashrak on Wed, 02/23/2011 - 10:42pm.
Union bosses need people - to pay dues. And the Democrat Party needs those dues in order to pander for votes by promising freebies to those voters once elected.
MSNBC needs those voters to get those freebies, so they can continue watching.
The implosion continues and this Cenk cat isn't exactly tearing up the Republicans and Conservatives as he said he would. The only thing he is accomplishing is keeping the seat warm for someone who actually makes sense.
Comcast has to recognize that "Lock Up" reruns get better ratings than their primetime line up and, in the end, MSNBC is a corporate structure designed to, well, make money. Give Olberman credit for one thing, he got out while the getting was good. It is all down hill from here where MSNBC is concerned. No Doubt About It.
"it seems fair to accuse him of . . . fraud."
Submitted by Dave. on Wed, 02/23/2011 - 10:52pm.
Mark,
I'm putting my money on stoopidity, as fraud implies Cenk knows who government goonion members actually work for.
Of course, it may be that this clown is so programmed to blame 'corporate executives' for all the world's ills that he just cannot help himself, even when they aren't even involved.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
Cenk is showing his youth
Submitted by Boudin on Wed, 02/23/2011 - 10:57pm.
He is stupider then all that came before em.
I understand we should all do what we can
Submitted by Boudin on Wed, 02/23/2011 - 11:01pm.
For the Mentally Handicapped, but really?
Cenk the Moron...
Submitted by adamsmith on Thu, 02/24/2011 - 10:14am.
This guy reminds me of a humanized version of that old toy, the "Rockem-Sockem" robots. Must be not having a neck. If I remember right there was a blue one and a red one. He's obviously the reddest of the red. And he really is this stupid......
He who blogs and runs away ...
Submitted by Hunter12 on Wed, 02/23/2011 - 11:43pm.
Why do we need protection from the kind-hearted liberal types protesting the unreasonable conservatives who want to save Wisconsin from bankruptcy?
"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last." - Sir Winston Churchill
Cenkster
Submitted by Jerry Mack on Thu, 02/24/2011 - 12:00am.
The Desert Rat knows not the mountain snow. The Cenkster knows not the difference between public and private sector unions. Neither does his audience.
I'm pretty sure
Submitted by donabernathy on Thu, 02/24/2011 - 12:13am.
Cenk's head whistles in a cross wind.
roflmao
never mind
Submitted by Mike F on Thu, 02/24/2011 - 9:02am.
Under what circumstances
Submitted by Bosco1123 on Thu, 02/24/2011 - 1:55am.
I can understand the circumstances that led to the state breaking their promise to the unions.
I can understand the motivations of the unions giving back on salary and benefits.
I can understand the state giving sweetheart tax breaks to business.
What I'm trying to imagine is under what circumstances would the state break a promise to business. Does it happen all the time and I'm missing it?
Libs have been pushing this lame mantra
Submitted by johnsonl on Thu, 02/24/2011 - 8:02am.
out of desperation. They need to switch to something a little more snappy, perhaps they could call conservatives "yellow capitalist running dogs" or something equally Mao-ish.
Good ol' Chunk--
Submitted by HockeyKid on Thu, 02/24/2011 - 8:38am.
always dependable for his complete lack of comprehension.
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me