Doesn’t Add Up
link 2nd UPDATE: UK Hit By Nationwide Public Sector Strike – WSJ.com.
As sure as the shrimp is the first to disappear at a buffet table, public sector unions in western nations are up in arms over the changes being imposed on their entitlements by governments pressed to address horrendous budget shortfalls. Of course, that’s only unions in western countries since it is only in western countries that there is the notion of entitlement.
The roots of the labour movement arguably began in Europe during the Industrial Revolution as economies moved from being historically agrarian to adjust to the new era of machines and systematized processes. Labor became more of a commodity and the early industrialists were as likely as not to exploit the new labor dynamic. Abuses of workers were likely common and eventually, trade unions were established to protect workers from abusive policies. A more detailed discussion can be had at, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_movement
With the passage of time however, the labour movement evolved into a distinct component of most western governments but has morphed to become more of a home for leftists than they are defenders of the individual. It’s no coincidence that labour parties have always been closely aligned with socialist/marxist and communist movements since these philosophies all pushed the notion of the oppressed, non ruling masses. Whether or not one agrees with the philosophy or aims of the labour movement, one common flaw is glaringly common to all iterations of leftist political thinking.
They have no grasp of math.
Every little kid in every Asian country, from a very early age is competent in basic arithmetic. The concept of the equals sign, “=” elegantly represented by two parallel lines of exactly equal length means that the values assigned on either side of the sign are the same in value. Logically, this means that any change to one side requires a change on the other side otherwise the equation is no longer valid. Somehow, this very fundamental and logical concept is lost on most leftist ideologues and union reps when it comes to socialized payout benefits. To them, balancing input and outgo is an abstract exercise similar to calculating the value of pi. This gap in reasoning must be attributable to a deficient education.
It makes sense then, that in order to restore reasonableness to much of society’s woes, that an emphasis should be placed on math from the very early ages. In fact, when anyone runs for or is appointed to any position of political influence, they should first be required to take a math proficiency exam to ensure that there is a grasp of the concept of the equals sign. We’re not talking differential calculus math, we’re talking, if Suzy had 3 apples and gave Johnny 1 apple math. Not only would this eliminate math illiterates from attaining office, it will eliminate them being able to con the large segment of the population who are also math challenged, those that would believe blantantly false utterances and promises.
Only very coddled children, very naive individuals or simply wilfully ignorant demagogues can believe that an infinite amount of anything is available from a very limited pot. Public service unions can march all they want, but the simple math says that for them to receive an ever escalating stream of entitlements erroneously pledged by disingenuous leaders means that someone has to pay for them, especially if they themselves don’t. It just doesn’t add up. At some point, they really do run out of shrimp at the buffet table.