Kevin Drum is upset because the Bush Administration is targeting labor unions for more financial audits. The reason this is supposedly bad is because corporations like Enron steal billions more and ordinary deadbeats cheat on their taxes, costing the U.S. Treasury even more billions.
The Labor Blog quotes the article and jumps to conclusions:
The crimes inspiring this crackdown?
Pointing to embezzlement of hundreds of thousands of dollars by the presidents of the ironworkers union and Washington's teachers union, Labor Department officials say the number of audits fell too far in the 1990's and needs to be restored to previous levels.
Yes, that's it. The absolute worst examples of corruptions and it's equivalent to the change lost in the company couches at Enron and WorldCom.
Those were cited as examples, yes. Are they the worst? Unfortunately, no. The United Association and its Plumbers and Pipe Fitters National Pension Fund are much better examples of why unions should be audited carefully. Marty Maddaloni and his cronies nearly gutted the Pension Plan and might have succeeded except the Department of Labor did step in. Big Labor is historically and potentially just as corrupt and greedy as any Big Business.
Anybody want to bet that the UA is the worst? Not me.
This isn't harassing the poor, it's keeping a close eye on Fat Cats wearing a union label, instead of a corporate logo.
