Tim Carney’s book Obamanomics does a great job spelling out how and why. We highly recommend this book to you.  Carney also spoke on a Cato panel about his findings. The video of his speech is at fora.tv – definitely worth the watch.

If you think that the current Goldman Sachs SEC probe is a sign of Big Government taking on Big Business, then I’ve got some beachfront land in Iowa to sell you.  Goldman will get a “slap on the wrist” (if anything at all, since it looks like the charges are extremely overblown and may be without merit) while – wink wink – the resulting financial regulation encouraged by their public castigation will ensure that the new and onerous compliance costs hurt Goldman’s smaller competitors.

Big Government gets more power, Big Business gets less competition from smaller competitors.

It’s a familiar story.  Watch it unfold, yet again, in the coming months and years.

Read that Carney book.  Free your mind.

Please subscribe to our RSS feed and join our Facebook group.

But recently, UPS has declared war on FedEx, in the form of Union-Driven rent seeking and the outcome of the war will likely affect small business owners and employees.

Lakers vs. Celtics, Red Sox vs. Yankess, UPS vs. FedEx.  Rivalries are good, and in the case of the latter two package delivery companies, a strong rivalry results in better prices, improved innovation, and improved choices, particularly for small businesses.

But Congress is trying to mess with that by “leveling the playing field” through a small provision tucked into the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009.  The Act, which made it through the house is now in front of the Senate, and essentially changes the rules on labor organization for express package carriers. (See Section 806)

The bill’s sponsor is Minnesota Representative James Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and co-sponsored by Jerry Costello, from Illinois.  Both of these congressmen receive a large percentage of their campaign contributions from Union organizations, and both have been the recipient of steady generous campaign contributions from UPS and the Teamsters Union (which represents UPS workers).

At issue is this:  FedEx Express (which carries only the overnight and express packages) workforce is governed under the Railway Labor Act, which requires a national vote of employees in order to form a Union.   UPS, on the other hand, is governed under the National Labor Relations Act, which allows for unions to form on a local level.  UPS and its Teamsters Union admit that the fact that FedEx’s workers are not unionized is a “competitive advantage.”  They have therefore used their political clout to get Mr. Oberstar and Mr. Costello to pork-barrel in legislation that would put FedEx Express under the NLRA, and make it possible for local union organization.

Why should you care?

1. This will drive up the cost to run your small business.  If FedEx workers were to organize, it would assuredly result in a higher cost of business for them. Those additional costs would then be passed on to businesses and consumers that use FedEx.  Even if you use UPS, your costs would go up, because as FedEx raises it’s prices, UPS would not be forced to keep prices down to remain competitive.  Thus resulting in higher overall transportation costs for everyone.
2. The federal government should not be involved in “leveling the playing field.”  Many small and large businesses in all industries take advantage of competitive positions, through legal loopholes, legislative action, or through strategic partnerships.  If FedEx has found a legal way to have an advantage over a competitor, why should that be taken away?
3. There are only 2 small package delivery companies in the country (if you don’t count the Post Office (and we don’t)). Taking away competitive advantages results in identical companies, thus creating a duopoly.  With no competitive differences, there would be no incentive for either company to work harder for your business, thus resulting in higher prices, and lower service for small businesses that ship goods.
4. Do you remember when the Teamsters Union chose to strike in 1997?  If you owned a business then, I guarantee you remember. Small businesses were the ones that suffered the most.  If passed, we could conceivably end up with both FedEx and UPS workers going on strike at the same time.  What would that do for your business?
5. Organizing as a Union will do nothing for the average FedEx worker.  The next time you shop at a grocery store, ask the clerk at the counter what he gets from being a member of his local Grocery Workers Union.  Or ask your favorite teacher if she is confident that the local Teacher’s Union has successfully secured her a competitive salary.  The UAW is just as much at fault for the failing US auto industry as is poor management. Unions do nothing for average workers except take a piece of their paychecks, and gift an occasional hat or commemorative pin.

In reality, Unions are a thing of the past.  They may have been a necessary part of the development of our laws.  But in today’s economy, they essentially create no net gain for their members and are merely a self serving political entity.  As Veronique de Rugy puts it:

Unions represent an Industrial Revolution–era understanding of labor relations. The modern American movement grew out of an assembly line culture where every product was identical and workers were viewed in a similar way. As that mode of production has declined, so have unions’ relevance and power. 

Call or write your Senator today.  Tell them to stay out of business, and to vote no on the H.R. 915 -FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009.  Click here for a quick and easy email submission tool.

Sign up for our RSS feed and become a fan of our Facebook Page and we’ll keep you aware of how Big Business and Unions collude with Big Government to punish free markets and prosperity.

It’s no wonder that big business is never leading the charge against welfare reform.  Many of them are great beneficiaries of it and it allows them to also “receive a handout” from the government.  Corporate cronyism.  The lobbying dollars the big businesses spend ensures that Big Government favors Big Business over Small Business.

Government regulations impose higher costs on small businesses, because the “cost per employee” to meet the demands of the regulation are much higher for small businesses.  No wonder some corporations actually advocate for more legislation and restriction on business – it keeps upstart competitors out of their market.

Perhaps most disturbing is the way welfare funds are used.

Think about this.  If you as a small business owner or as a small business employee were able to keep more of your money, you could actually create more jobs (by expanding your business and hiring others if you are an owner) and spend more in your local enonomy (if you had more take-home pay after taxes), THEREBY LOWERING THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AND ACTUALLY LOWERING THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE ASKING FOR WELFARE HANDOUNTS.  (I’m shouting this because it’s a fact no one seems to get!)

Taxation for welfare programs BEGETS the need for more welfare programs (and therefore more taxation).

Now, let’s talk about the consequences of Welfare dependency.  It makes us all worse off and actually enables bad behavior while diminishing the need to be personally responsible.

I received the following email this week from a member of the SBABG facebook group.  He works at a large national convenience grocery chain, but is very sympathetic to our small government message.  He writes:

You know what would be nice? If welfare could have more restrictions. 99% of all Electronic Benefit Transfers  (EBT) transactions  for welfare recipients at my store are for candy, chips and pop. Very, very rarely do I see someone actually use EBT for a necessity.

It would be interesting if there was data that showed how much junk food vs necessities was purchased with EBT.

At least energy drinks such as Rockstar or Red Bull are not covered. A guy tried to buy one a few months back and when EBT wouldn’t cover it exclaimed “They should pay for that!!”. Ummm, No!, I should not have to pay for you to drink sugar water!  I know there are people who actually need welfare, but I think the majority of people on welfare are too lazy to try and find a job (even before the economy went down).

Welcome to the harm that Big Government does.  Apparently, we are unable to work out social problems in our local communities, so Big Government takes from the most productive among us, gives handouts that do not fulfill their stated objective, and thereby ensures that the problems are permanently with us.

As we like to say, “Way to go Big Government!”

Do you have any “nightmare stories” you’d like to share?  Please leave them in the comments below!

Also, please subscribe to our RSS feed and our newsletter, and join our Facebook group.