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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Well, for one thing you are ignoring the cost of transporting everything (including the equipment to do the mining in the first place). While the people do work more cheaply, the transport costs are MUCH higher.
And I am saying that it is likely the local unions are asking for more than what is necessary for the employee's protection/benefits and could probably ask for less while still representing their members/taking care of their members' health. There is probably some room for compromise.
Random thought: I thank this thread for helping me define my politics: I think I'm a left-leaning (as defined by current US politics) centrist. I certainly prefer learning about/understanding both sides and playing devil's advocate than just having a "leftest" opinion.
Yu hav nat sein bod speeling unntil know. (cacke four undersandig tis)the cake is a lie!Fact Checker: Republicans lie more than Democrats
Big surprise...
Of course, the details are more interesting. In partial summary: an analysis of 100 "factual" statements that were checked by Politi Fact.com during Obama's 2nd term shows that Democrats were more truthful at a 2 to 1 ratio.
So, no surprise that the Republicans lied more, but a little surprised about how much more. Lots of room for discrepancies/other points to be made, but hard to argue with the overall conclusion.
Yu hav nat sein bod speeling unntil know. (cacke four undersandig tis)the cake is a lie!If you give a group to much power, be it Corporations, Unions, or the Government, don't be surprised when they start abusing it.
Eric Cantor says Obama ‘disconnected,’ has ‘lost focus’ in office
Tea Party groups that were targeted by IRS are called to testify
edited 29th May '13 10:37:56 AM by DeviantBraeburn
Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016While I might agree with Mr. Cantor there's not a whole lot we can do about it. He still has the rest of the term in office and however disconnected Obama may be I doubt he's the kind of person to do anything impeachable.
Guess we have to try and appeal to Congress. *gulp*
But that's a story for another time.I live right next to an example of a greedy union. My local Longshoremans union has been pretty quiet the last few years thankfully, but they used to hold this town by the balls. They have safe conditions because the Port Authority and DHS actively work with them, as well as the Do D(half of the port is US Navy) and so OSHA standards kind of have to be followed.
But the longshoremen get kick ass benefits and earn 30+ dollars an hour to perform unskilled labor in safe conditions. That just pisses me off. Most of these guys don't have any real college to speak of, and when a new slot opens up they go to the unemployment office and raffle away the job vacancy instead of looking for the most qualified person who might have a background in working with heavy machinery or somesuch.
Conservative groups sue Holder, IRS over Tea Party targeting
Joe Biden calls for 'new era' in US relations with Latin America during trip to Brazil
Senator McConnell campaign ad ties Obama to IRS scandal, Richard Nixon
Only for the politicians that feel vulnerable.
edited 29th May '13 12:59:01 PM by DeviantBraeburn
Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016@Belian: I'm interested in what you consider centrist. Do you just believe that the answer lies in what's efficient instead of whatever the party line is? Pragmatist might be a better word for it.
Is using "Julian Assange is a Hillary butt plug" an acceptable signature quote?Okay, this shit is getting scary.
Yeah, it's not so much that unions don't abuse their power, so much as companies abuse them more and we're observably worse off without the unions. For every batch of longshoremen who got enough of a foothold to extort the city for ridiculous pay, you've got ten more committing outright human rights violations.
@Kostya: Yes, this will end well for him.
First place he tries that on, he and his compatriots will get hit HARD.
Very big Daydream Believer. "That's not knowledge, that's a crapshoot!" -Al Murray "Welcome to QI" -Stephen Fry

Or go for the reverse? Find a specialist coal market, where a high price can be charged, and exploit it?
Keep Rolling On