(Written and
posted 7 December 2012)
It has now been over ten years since I have moved to Oklahoma, and over that decade, I have seen this state slip further and further into stagnation and poverty. There are few jobs available anymore, and those that are left typically pay minimum wage with no benefits. Thus, a sizable portion of the state relies on government assistance, be it food stamps, Medicaid, unemployment, or disability benefits, to survive. Over the past four years, the housing market has been flooded with foreclosures, with many houses being on the market for more than a year. It is a buyer’s market, but there are no buyers, as everyone is experiencing the same financial duress. Who can afford to buy a better house when you can’t even afford to keep the one that you have?
I
have spent the past several years scouting out other parts of the nation to
find a place to go to where there are opportunities to live beyond the poverty
line. While on my travels, I have had
extensive conversations with the locals to get a true flavor of the economic
health of the locale beyond the touristy Potemkin villages. I have been surprised, and disheartened by
what I discovered – much of the country is suffering the same poverty and
stagnation as Oklahoma. Most of the
Central and Mountain time zones are in severe economic stagnation, while the
Eastern and Pacific times zones, while suffering through the Great Recession as
well, are on the road to recovery.
Interestingly, the states that are suffering the worst, like Oklahoma,
are red, while the states that are on the road to recovery, are blue. Of course, there are some states, like
Michigan, that are blue on the federal level and red on the state and local
level, that are an economic mixed bag.
Here
in Oklahoma, there is only one city that has any economic pulse, and that is
Oklahoma City and its surroundings.
Interesting, for a state that despises government, and who’s political
leaders constantly denounce government spending, it is because of government
spending that it’s only city with an economic pulse still has one. The three big employers in the Oklahoma City
area are the state government, the flagship state university, and a military
base, each one a government entity that spends copious amounts of money. Without the state government, what would
Oklahoma City be? Nothing. Without the University of Oklahoma, what
would Norman be? Nothing. Without the military base, what would
Midwest City be? Nothing. These three government entities are what
draw private investment to Oklahoma City; take them away, and the private
sector investment goes away. Yet the
Republican legislature which meets in the government town, and the Republican
governor, who lives in the government-provided palace in the government town,
constantly rail about the evils of the government and how government,
especially the federal government, spends too much and is a complete failure. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you;
would they be singing the same tune if the federal government decided to close
down the military base, one of the largest employers in the state?
The
danger with the demagogues in Oklahoma and other states is that they can easily
convince a poor and relatively uneducated electorate that there are bogeymen
like the federal government, the intellects, minorities, and unions that are
responsible for their poverty, and to willingly agree to give the demagogues
the power to enact policies that will further acerbate their condition. In Oklahoma, one of those demagogues is a
former governor who is still revered even though it was one of his policies
that has contributed, and in my opinion, caused, the decline and stagnation of
Oklahoma.
The
governor? Frank Keating. The policy?
Right-to-work. Keating used his
personal charisma to convince the people to vote for “right-to-work”. What is “right-to-work”? If you don’t know, you should. “Right-to-work” advocates will tell you that
it is an economic enhancement policy that encourages businesses to expand by
eliminating “closed shops”, which are anathema to businesses. What are “closed shops”? Closed shops are businesses where all
employees must join a union, and where all contracts between employer and
employee are done collectively through the union. For example, if you have a closed shop with 100 employees,
instead of having 100 employment contracts between the employer and each employee,
there is one common contract between the employer and all employees, with the
employees being represented by a union.
If the employees representatives (the union) and the employers fail to
reach an equitable contract, then all employees terminate employment with the
employer simultaneously (a strike). It
is easy for an employer to replace one unhappy employee; not so much one
hundred. Unionism and collective
bargaining is representative democracy at its finest. It is because of collective bargaining and unions that employees
only work 40 hours per week, work in safe conditions, and receive decent wages,
pensions, and benefits. Prior to the
rise of unions, American workers toiled away in slavery-like conditions, if not
worse, for even slaves had food and housing provided to them.
Ironically,
some of the richest men and women in America are union members. Professional athletes belong to unions, and
because of the unions they are allowed to be free agents and switch teams and
get paid what their talents are worth.
There is a reason that prior to Kurt Flood and the players’ union that
players stayed with the same team their entire careers – once a player signed
with a team, he was pretty much owned by that team unless he was traded. In other words, either a player played for
what the team was offering or he didn’t play at all; he was not free to provide
his services to another team. Actors
and actresses were treated pretty much the same way before the rise of the
Screen Actors Guild. If an actor or
actress was signed by Warner Brothers, he or she could only work on Warner
Brothers movies, even if offered a higher-paying part by Universal. Interestingly, a certain B-Movie actor led
the SAG to prominence and power, and then subsequently became the most famous
and powerful union-buster. His
name? Ronald Reagan. Talk about biting the hand that fed you!
Despite
what advocates may say, “Right-to-work” is nothing more than
union-busting. Because the unions hold
employers accountable and demand fair treatment of the workers, who are responsible
for generating the wealth for the employers, employers and their allies will do
whatever it takes to destroy the unions, and we, the uneducated masses, fall
for it every time. In states where
“right-to-work” is the law, wages have declined, including here in
Oklahoma. When wages and benefits
decline, people have less discretionary income, and with less discretionary
income, are unable to purchase other goods and services. When demand drops, ultimately supply
drops. When supply drops, people lose their
jobs. When people lose their jobs,
demand falls even further. And the
vicious cycle continues until there is no demand and no supply and everyone is
living on government support. Of
course, since the government relies on taxes to fund its programs, if no one is
working, then the government doesn’t collect taxes and the programs can no
longer be funded. In the end, either
people move or starve, a phenomenon that is occurring throughout the central
states.
Don’t
believe me? Ask Jim Delaney, the commissioner
of the Big 10 Conference. Why did the
conference add Rutgers and Maryland, two mediocre football teams at best? Because that is where the people are moving
to. As occurred almost a century ago
during the Great Depression, people are moving out of the center of the country
to the coasts, as that is where the opportunities are. Houston is a coastal city, and has turned
blue. Florida is coastal and is also
blue. Washington, Baltimore, New York,
Boston- all thriving, all blue.
Seattle, Portland, California- still growing, all blue. Like it or not, there is a pattern.
It
pained me to hear that Michigan’s Republican legislature and Republican
governor are making Michigan a “right-to-work” state. Having just traveled throughout Michigan, the only area that has
any vibrancy is the Detroit area, which is dominated by unionized
industries. Yes, Michigan has a host of
problems, but outside of Detroit, I didn’t see much that was encouraging. Unfortunately, where the Republican party is
concerned, ideology trumps all, even if that ideology will lead to your
ultimate demise.
I
used to be a conservative, but I am not anymore. Conservativism means maintaining the status quo, clinging to
failed policies and ideologies. A
coworker was surprised to find that I am rather blue, because a middle-aged
white male is supposed to be Republican!
I am part of a very small, but hopefully growing, group of middle-aged
white men who have seen enough and would rather try something new than cling
onto the failed policies of the past and hope that if we try them enough, we
will eventually succeed. The facts are
the facts – policies like “right-to-work” have been a complete failure, have
been one of the causes of the current malaise, and need to be buried forever.