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But unions are not all the same. And I was not trying to make a point about union membership at all. I was rather lamenting economic policy. Some economists and
by mustafa_pasi 3y ago
But unions are not all the same. And I was not trying to make a point about union membership at all. I was rather lamenting economic policy. Some economists and some industrialists believe in keeping wages low to remain competitive. This thinking is present in Germany but (it seems to me) that it is less present in California. In my opinion, the long term economic effect of low wages is economic stagnation, even if you might remain economically competitive on the world stage. Eventually the rest of the world would move on and whatever role you were filling would disappear anyway.
- runnerup 3y agoThis seems like a reasonable take on the situation. I've personally always wondered about the relative cost of "under-employment" (allowing wages to go much lower) vs. "partial re-employment" (time and effort needed for retraining to other high-paying jobs, moving to those jobs, and some % of people who are physically/mentally unable to make that transition).
- c0balt 3y agoIt's also an easy way to get caught by brain drain. Germany is already somewhat suffering from this for highly skilled workers.