Thursday, February 23, 2006

Double Monopoly No Game

So it looks like public sector union boss Sid Ryan isn’t going to hit Ontario with an illegal strike.

He probably finally realized that Ontarians wouldn’t look too kindly on him for pulling the plug on government services over an issue that is convoluted at best.

Yet his posturing is another timely reminder as to why we need to change the system.

And when I say “change the system”, I mean we need to end the “Double Monopoly” which gives union bosses like Ryan so much power.

And when I say “Double Monopoly” I mean the government has a monopoly on certain public services and public sector unions have a monopoly on the supply of labour for those services.

Hence every time a public union wants to pick a fight with the government they have the power to hold Ontarians hostage.

The solution is to end the monopoly.

That means whenever possible, government services should be contracted out or privatized.

It’s the only way to stop the Sid Ryans of the world from abusing their power.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Right you are Gerry! Speaking of "double monopoly" how about we start with the teacher unions?

Anonymous said...

Yes , by all means start with the teachers' unions ...self serving at the worst !
They have NO consideration for the pupils or their families ....the very people they serve and who ultimately pay their salaries .
Give us options !
Why must we have monopolies ...like health care ??.
Competition in the supply of all goods & services produces cost savings and excellence .
blessings from Virgil ON

Anonymous said...

I think garbage collection and snow removal are two services which should be contracted out. To be honest, until this strike threat came along I thought they already were.

veedgo said...

The problem with current privatization choices is that there is a monopoly there as well. There is a monopoly on who can under bid. I would even go so far as to call this a triple monopoly-control over the government agency through threats/lobbyists and calling the shots, control over supplying capital to run things government agencies need, and control over who has power to bid by being able to afford underbidding everyone else who would have been honest. We are so threatened by monetary issues that we forget that it is possible to run without it. However, that takes the very difficult tack of committing to something seemingly as out on the limb as going across the ocean for 6 months or the plains and hoping for something one cannot fathom except in dreams.