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Principles of finance ah la shmoop ethical tussles in government

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projects Okay here's The eight hundred billion dollar question should

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the government when going out to bid a project rico

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wire the bidders to employ union labor like should that

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even be a requirement Or should there be a minimum

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hourly wage stipulated which you know basically requires union work

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there or should the bid be quote labor blind unquote

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and just get the best price for the same product

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or service as would happen in normal corporate america A

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given project cost one hundred million dollars for a minimum

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wage slash union embracing buyer slash employer calling a new

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sewer system for a big city or a a dam

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in front of a big river to provide water to

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the city below are you know a road that's the

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cost If it's a union job one hundred million bucks

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union bidders union workers union pension fund contributions one hundred

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million box overhead with union workers that job will be

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vastly more pleasant to build for the workers Unions look

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out for their own workers They negotiate most often not

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just for higher wages for their employees but rather for

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the employer to be required tohave mohr employees like mohr

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workers Why Well because those workers pay union dues and

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the math basically works out so that it's more favorable

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to the union to get dues from lots of modestly

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paid workers than from a smaller number of meaningfully higher

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paid workers right the unions just doing what it was

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hired to do so instead of four hundred thirty seven

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workers in a non union sewer system build this particular

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Job will take 680 two workers because it's a union

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job it's union friendly well there will be additional tracking

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layers and craft service costs for whatever that union was

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able to negotiate on behalf of the members who paid

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the lawyers there of the union to negotiate for him

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right there Good The nonunion flavor of this Job would

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have cost 70000000 thirty million box and our hundred million

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union job The nonunion rock collars cost twenty dollars an

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hour The union guys cost forty The union workers get

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a five dollars an hour overhead quote burden unquote for

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their labors That burden covers things like health insurance and

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accident insurance and all kinds of other things that we're

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not going to hear the project comprises a lot of

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spend on labor but it isn't only labor that rings

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up that seventy two then one hundred million dollars in

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extra cost should the workers be required to by end

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or only used parts and supplies from companies that produce

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those parts in america in buying parts made in america

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by only union labor Yeah those parts cost a lot

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more than the parts made in russia by the conglomerate

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polluters are us any individual employees and given project could

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on ly work thirty six hours in a union job

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any hour worked after that was charged at time and

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a half meaning that a twenty six dollars an hour

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worker would then get thirty nine dollars an hour for

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having worked that thirty seventh hour that week Well whenever

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a box over fifty pounds has moved in a union

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Job contracts required that 2 workers move that box not

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one lunch hour had to actually be a full hour

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with a smoking area reserved and all holidays had to

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be respected Yeah like even talk like a pirate day

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And if you didn't respect it whole you would hear

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About it from hr so union job a hundred million

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non union seventy million so what's thirty million box among

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friends they're among taxpayers Well it's a lot If you

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had wanted the local library to stay afloat or tohave

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the community college move out of the decrepit old military

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barrack buildings or to have your local pinch and funds

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solvent so that retiring old people didn't actually you know

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starve or just keep the tax dollars in your pocket

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Yeah well none of these things will happen now that

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we've gone with one hundred million dollars union job instead

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of just taking the cheapest bidder And remember that it's

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you you the taxpayer paying that extra thirty million dollars

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normal taxpayers we pay it all So if your tax

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bill last year was eleven thousand three hundred forty five

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dollars do you think you should have been ableto vote

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for non union government bidders and paid eleven thousand two

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hundred eleven dollars in tax instead The government mandate of

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union bid jobs cost you the taxpayer exactly one hundred

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thirty four dollars last year and yeah it's a totally

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arbitrary number we just made up But if you go

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back and look at the numbers and we're probably not

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far off here and not that the number is bad

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but was it fair Was it ethical Was it the

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right thing to do What if half the tax paying

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voting population runs their own small businesses and dry cleaners

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Teo golf supply shops and they hate unions Is it

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fair to them to give that extra bill that hundred

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thirty four dollars out of their pockets That how many's

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golf tees did you have to sell the urn than

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hundred thirty four dollars Is it fair to make them

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give that money to union labours And what about workers

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in the union What if they don't want or need

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the union benefits Maybe they're married and they get health

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care elsewhere on someone else's nickel or maybe they're massacre

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ist and they just enjoy physical pain Is it fair

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to make those union workers you know forcibly pay dues

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to the union They're a bunch of supreme court cases

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coming down the line that address this issue from a

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few different angles and will be largely up to those

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nine folks and the black robes to decide what's quote

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Fair unquote So a lot to think about Union workers

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benefit from unions obviously But what about those who are

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harmed like small business owners who were entirely non union

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which by the way is a lot of people and

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some would say the core of our nation's economy So

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yeah should uncle sam be so involved or should he 00:05:53.08 --> [endTime] you know keep his hands to himself

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