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I support free markets because they tend to distribute scarce resources efficiently, and monopoly disrupts that. A union is, roughly, an attempt to form a monop

I support free markets because they tend to distribute scarce resources efficiently, and monopoly disrupts that. A union is, roughly, an attempt to form a monopoly and charge a price above the market price, which our first expectation should lead us to think will cause a deadweight loss and drop in employment, although there will be some rents to the workers that keep their jobs which of course is why they are trying to do it.

jeffreyrogers 8y ago
That's true if you have a free market, but the healthcare market is not free due to supply restrictions (can't make new doctors easily), demand restrictions (employer or government bears most of the cost, but patients are consuming healthcare services), and complex regulatory things that increase overhead. So an idealogically pure libertarian would argue that unions are bad, but a more pragmatic libertarian could argue that unions are bad overall, but might help address some of the current problems with the healthcare system.
- savanaly 8y ago
  I guess I interpreted the argument as being about workers and employers, with healthcare cost as a given, with the debate mainly being about how much the employer should subsidize healthcare. Which basically amounts to how high should the wage be since you can lump in any subsidy to healthcare with the standard wage and consider that the entire compensation package that's being negotiated over. And in the case of software engineers specifically, which is what I responded to, the market has a lot of buyers and sellers.
beat 8y ago
Isn't that what corporations are, too?
- savanaly 8y ago
  Corporations can take on a role as a monopolist but it's not inherent to their nature. I would hazard to say that most corporations are in a market where they can't affect the equilibrium market price of the good they're selling by very much, and thus don't resemble a union in that respect.
  - beat 8y ago
    What about exclusive contracts? They're common as dirt in the business world... "You commit to us, you have to buy this only from us for the next X years". I don't see how this is different from unions.

jeffreyrogers 8y ago

That's true if you have a free market, but the healthcare market is not free due to supply restrictions (can't make new doctors easily), demand restrictions (employer or government bears most of the cost, but patients are consuming healthcare services), and complex regulatory things that increase overhead. So an idealogically pure libertarian would argue that unions are bad, but a more pragmatic libertarian could argue that unions are bad overall, but might help address some of the current problems with the healthcare system.

savanaly 8y ago
I guess I interpreted the argument as being about workers and employers, with healthcare cost as a given, with the debate mainly being about how much the employer should subsidize healthcare. Which basically amounts to how high should the wage be since you can lump in any subsidy to healthcare with the standard wage and consider that the entire compensation package that's being negotiated over. And in the case of software engineers specifically, which is what I responded to, the market has a lot of buyers and sellers.

beat 8y ago

Isn't that what corporations are, too?

savanaly 8y ago
Corporations can take on a role as a monopolist but it's not inherent to their nature. I would hazard to say that most corporations are in a market where they can't affect the equilibrium market price of the good they're selling by very much, and thus don't resemble a union in that respect.
- beat 8y ago
  What about exclusive contracts? They're common as dirt in the business world... "You commit to us, you have to buy this only from us for the next X years". I don't see how this is different from unions.