Unions | AEIdeas

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Has the decline of unions caused an explosion in income inequality? Not so much

James Pethokoukis | December 11, 2012, 1:41 pm

With heavily-unionized Michigan about to become a “right to work” state, I expect to soon see a blizzard of blog posts and news stories about how the decline in unionism has caused stagnant wages and rising income inequality. But the … read more >

Economics, Free Enterprise

Break up the big… unions!

Nick Schulz | October 19, 2012, 1:37 pm

I know Jimmy P. is hot to break up the big banks, but what about some other organizations that may have become too large for the public good? read more >

Politics and Public Opinion

What you may have missed in the polls: Admiring the rich, NYC soda ban, and Wisconsin

Karlyn Bowman and Andrew Rugg | June 8, 2012, 9:36 am

Admiring the Rich?: The Pew Research Center updated many of the organization’s key trends on values in a substantial April poll. In the poll, 88 percent said they admired people who get rich by working hard (11 percent disagreed). In … read more >

Economics

Wisconsin and collapse of Obama’s blue-model economics

James Pethokoukis | June 6, 2012, 1:01 pm

No, it wasn’t the money. Walter Russell Mead: The left’s problem in Wisconsin wasn’t that the right had too much money. The left’s problem is that the left’s agenda didn’t have enough support from the public. Poll after poll after poll … read more >

Politics and Public Opinion

A look at the Wisconsin exit polls

Karlyn Bowman and Andrew Rugg | June 6, 2012, 9:20 am

On Monday, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina posted a short video for supporters. The video looked at the electoral map and put Wisconsin in the “undecided” camp, much to the surprise of many observers. Wisconsin hasn’t voted for a Republican … read more >

Politics and Public Opinion

Scott Walker, America’s Thatcher

James Pethokoukis | June 5, 2012, 10:37 pm

“There really is no alternative.” – Margaret Thatcher Perhaps, in the end, Wisconsin voters just knew a return to the status quo was not a viable alternative. The cozy crony relationship between government unions and government make it impossible to … read more >

Economics, U.S. Economy

New study: It was technology that smashed private-sector unions

James Pethokoukis | May 15, 2012, 10:23 am

From economists Emin M. Dinlersoz and Jeremy Greenwood, The Rise and Fall of Unions in the U.S.: When the productivity of unskilled labor is (relatively) high it pays for the union to organize a lot of firms and demand generous … read more >

Society and Culture, Education

Banter #31: Are teachers underpaid?

Stuart James | November 10, 2011, 1:03 pm

Are teachers paid too much? Andrew Biggs, AEI resident scholar, sits down with Stu and Andrew to make the case that they are, and to discuss his Wall Street Journal op-ed on the topic. We discuss the various factors used … read more >

Society and Culture, Education

L.A. Mayor: GOP Should See School Spending Needs; Dems Should Fight Union Inflexibility

Bridget Johnson | September 19, 2011, 2:27 pm

The Democratic mayor of Los Angeles said today at AEI that the need to fix schools should rank above both the urge to slash spending and organized labor’s resistance to tough reforms. Antonio Villaraigosa, who early in his career worked … read more >

Society and Culture, Education

Deasy: L.A. Schools Must Work with Unions to Make Meaningful Reforms

Bridget Johnson | May 5, 2011, 5:54 pm

The new superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District at AEI on Thursday disputed the guidelines of laying off teachers by seniority without taking merit into consideration, but defended the city’s powerful teachers unions as a “deep” believer in … read more >