Government Unions Control America and Rob Taxpayers Blind - Book Report/Review Example

Regardless of whether one considers themselves a conservative or liberal, one point of agreement that exists between individuals of all political spectrums has to do with the fact that the overall rate of spending within Washington increases year-to-year. This seems to be regardless of who is president regardless of what political party controls Congress. As a function of this realization, one might begin to question whether or not fiscal responsibility is anything more than merely a means to get elected and a popular rallying cry that individuals used to motivate voters. In seeking to answer this question, the authors of the text in question, Shadowbosses: Government Unions Control Washington and Rob Taxpayers Blind, indicate that rather than Democrats and Republicans being complicit in the fleecing of the United States, a different dynamic entirely is being represented. As a function of seeking to understand this dynamic, analyze it to a more complete degree, and drop prescriptions and changes that could help to ameliorate this threat, the following analysis will seek to present the reader with a more nuanced and informed understanding of the present situation as well as future courses of action that might be taken. In addition to this, the analysis will also provide this reader’s input with respect to the quality of the book. It is essential to point out before delving into this particular study that regardless of the information that will be put forward, a politically neutral point of view is required prior to understanding the information that the authors have put forward. Whereas it is true that bias in all its forms is nearly impossible to eradicate, it is only through attempting to perform this function to a full and complete degree that the reader can gain beneficial inference with respect to the greater problem at hand. Firstly, in seeking to denote the actual problem that caused the authors to focus their attention and write a book about it, the reader can and for this to be the disproportionate and growing power that government employee unions are representing throughout the United States and its political system. Representing the paradigm, the authors indicate that the Republic itself was fabricated upon the belief and understanding that the general populace should be able to craft and mold the future of the Republic that they sought to live within (Factor and Facter 18). However, rather than this being essentially true, the authors indicate the fact that government employee unions are having an increasingly powerful steak with respect to the way that decisions are made and the mechanisms through which democracy is exhibited (Factor and Factor 28). The underlying rationale for all of this has to do with the fact that the government employee unions have grown in size to a number that exceeds several million participants. Within the not too distant past, government employee membership in unions was a relatively low figure that engaged very little political clout. However, individuals that work for the government have come to appreciate the fact that they could organize and effectively demand better salaries, fewer hours, better pension plans, and decrease responsibilities, the overall efficiency and largess that these government employee unions begin to represent had a drastically powerful impact with respect to the efficiency and deadweight loss government expenditures began to exhibit. The take away that can be had from all of this concerns the reader; due to the fact that tax revenues ultimately responsible for funding the government employees salaries, benefits packages, leave, and retirement. As such, rather than being a nearly political issue, this concerns each and every participant within the economy and contributes to some of the budget shortfall that has been evidenced with regard to the budget deficit of the past several decades. Moreover, an ethical situation also exists with relation to the problem that has thus far been defined. The situation that is then realized is one in which government employees, originally designated as “public servants”, are now leveraging their collective strength as a means of fleecing the taxpayer and creating extraordinarily “pushy” jobs that far exceed the level of remuneration that could be experienced within the private sector. Whereas in times past, it was expected that the government employee would not make nearly the same salary level as compared to the private sector, this differential is no longer the case. Instead, having a government job, and being part of a government union for that matter, necessarily guarantees an extraordinarily high salary, at least in comparison to the private sector, and does not denote a level of personal sacrifice or public service that was previously indicated within such a career choice. From engaging with this particular text, the reader is also impressed with the understanding that this political issue causes a level of singularity to develop between both conservatives and liberals as well as Democrats and Republicans. As the power of these unions and their respective size continues to grow, the authors indicate that the situation that will eventually be evidenced is one in which the government budget is partially hijacked by powerful governmental unions that can demand and extract revenue based upon their representative mass. In the same way that government is tasked with ensuring that mega corporations do not exhibit a monopoly and cannot disproportionately impact upon any particular market, it comes to be exceedingly clear that the government also has a responsibility due to protecting the rights of individual stakeholders in society and ensuring that these governmental unions cannot we the taxpayer in the way that they have over the past several decades. From the information that has thus far been presented, it is clear and apparent that the overall power and waste that these government employee unions represent is profound. Concerning the booking, it must also be noted that a rather extreme situation has been provided. Obviously, the authors of the book are fearful of the power that these public employees have and resent the union leverage that they respect. Although this is understandable, the situation appears to be exaggerated;especially with regard to the way in which tax revenues are spent in the best interests of all citizens. However, in seeking to put this particular book in focus, it must also be understood that the overall size and power of public employee unions that are exhibited within the United States are in order of magnitude lower as compared to the overall size and power of employee unions that are exhibited elsewhere throughout the developed world. Within such a context, some of the doom and gloom predictions that the authors denote can and should be taken with something of a grain of salt. Whereas it is true that government is notoriously inefficient and is not necessarily able to speak to the best interests of all societal needs, the range and extent to which public employee unions can detract from the overall strength of the United States and cause the potential downfall of the entire system is, at least in the mind of this particular analyst, inflated, exaggerated, and somewhat unrealistic. With this fact in mind, the situation that has been described is of course based upon the point of view that the authors represent. However, as with any point of view and any economic reality, there are two sides to any one equation. At such a point as a truly Democratic system begins to realize the negative impacts that this employee union represents, steps will be taken to seek to neutralize this and to bring the overall efficiency of the system back in line with the remainder of the economy. Works Cited Factor, Mallory, and Elizabeth Factor. Shadowbosses : Government Unions Control America and Rob Taxpayers Blind. New York: Center Street, 2013. Print. Read More