work ethic among the younger today, union or otherwise. Frankly, I don't quite get it.
Young people are a product, albeit not exact reflection, of what they saw and heard daily at the kitchen table. Their perspective on "work" wasn't formed in a vacuum. Sure, there's a general sense of entitlement that we inadvertantly or, in some cases, purposely instilled in our young, but the younger generations' perspective on "work" is not all bad or even mostly bad. They have a desire to get remunerated at a respectful level, one that affords them some modicum of comfort and stability, and be treated respectfully and with appreciation by their employers. I have found that younger generations have a fine work ethic when and where those work conditions exist. Those are the conditions that we, our parents, taught them to desire by way of our daily interactions in the home.
Frankly, I applaud our younger generations for demanding better. I am also 100% in favor of providing unemployment benefits at a level that forces employers to pay and appreciate their workforce more. That's capitalism in its essence and at its finest -- it creates real competition for labor, not the choke-hold on labor that corporations achieved by influencing economic/labor policy. Sure, inflation will be a consequence; but it's a well-worth-it bargain for our nation social well-being and stability-wise in my view -- especially if it's paid for by taxing wealth that has been accumulated by the relative few at the expense of workers these past 45 years.
The Civil Rights Act and Reagan's vilification of government are what made some Ds into Rs. Reagan also vilified unions. The truth is very simple: Unions are no worse than companies and corporations. If one is acceptable, so is the other. It's that simple.
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