Many of the big companies are firing a pretty large chunk of their workforce. Five thousand here, 10 thousand there and pretty soon it begins to add up. If the company can get along without them now what were they doing before?

The unions are raising Cain (or something similar) and are threatening to take the whole company out on strike. I guess they havent heard that they can easily be replaced by workers in some foreign country that will work for a fraction of the U.S. wage. The mass stupidity of the union bosses has always amazed me. Today they have almost no chips to play and they say all in. Boys, this isnt Texas Hold'em. They can wipe out the entire workforce.

When I was in Seattle recently I spoke with some of the guys on the Boeing picket line and I was amazed at their attitude. They seem to think the world owes them a living and they have the right to maintain their current life style. They are in for a shocking surprise when they find their job being sent to China to a worker who makes 60 cents an hour with no car, no house and NO benefits.

If you are a union man you hate what I just said, but the facts are there. From what I see the standard of living in the U.S. is going to come down. OK, you hate me, but killing the messenger will not solve the problem.

In order to stay in business companies must be able to justify labor productivity costs of $25 an hour. The guy standing next to you (maybe you) will be replaced by a more efficient machine and your union better help the company do it or there wont be any job at all. No one wants to throw you out on the street, but if your company cant compete they go under and you hit the bread line.

People must understand this is now a world market and competition is no longer limited to within our borders. The competitor for the job you are doing is not a guy in Milwaukee or Portland; he is in Asia or Russia. U.S. and European countries are sending work abroad not because they want to, but because they have to if they want to survive.

China has millions leaving the farm and heading for the big city because that is where the money is. Their government is as concerned about unemployment as we are. Whatever they earn in the city sweatshop is more than they had on the farm. Those workers dont have health insurance, vacations with pay, Social Security (or any other kind) and definitely no unions, but they are glad to be working.

Politicians will promise you 2 turkeys in the pot and 2 cars in every garage, cheap gas, retirement on full pay and all kinds of good stuff. Wake up. It is not possible.

Your adversary is not in the bosss office. Your competition is outside the USA. It is time we recognize this is a world market.