Re: [Marxism] Fw: [branchmaillist@upstate-ny-iww.org] Labor Union Bill Raises BroaderCapitalism Issues

["farmelantj@xxxxxxxx" <farmelantj@xxxxxxxx>]

I certainly wouldn't pretend to be able
to speak for Larry Summers (and I really
wouldn't want to), but he probably would
argue that these two positions are not
really contradictory.  In relatively
good times, he might argue that unionization
is likely to do more economic harm than
good, since it would drive labor costs
up in excess of any productivity gains,
but in a slump such as we are now facing,
unionization is likely to help boost
aggregate demand, which would be a
good thing under current conditions,
while the very slackness
of labor markets is probably likely to
restrain unions from making excessive
demands.  

Different policies for different
circumstances.

Jim F.

---------- Original Message ----------
Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

sabocat59@xxxxxxx wrote:
> Lawrence H. Summers, the National Economic Council director, has long been 
> regarded warily by unions, but in a speech Friday at the Brookings 
> Institution, he made roughly this case for boosting organized labor.

That's what he is saying now but in the past he has vilified unions, so 
much so that a full page ad in the NY Times a week or so ago had a quote 
by Summers at the top:

"Another cause of long-term unemployment is unionization. High union 
wages that exceed the competitive market rate are likely to cause job 
losses in the unionized sector of the economy. Also, those who lose 
high-wage union jobs are often reluctant to accept alternative low-wage 
employment."

full: http://fmpolitics.blogspot.com/2009/01/summers-on-big-labor.html


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