Capitalism, Unions, and Offshoring (Part I): A Tale of Two Firms
Once upon a time, there were two firms, Meritocratus and Egalitarius. Both firms operated in the $10 billion widget industry, and each had 50% market share. Widgets were not a commodity. Purchasers...
View ArticleCapitalism, Unions, and Offshoring (Part II): Workers of the World, Unite!
In the first installment of this series, we introduced two widget producers called Egalitarius and Meritocratus. Egalitarius’ management encourages its workers to unionize, because it wants to ensure...
View ArticleCapitalism, Unions, and Offshoring (Part III): Cost-Cutting
After encouraging its workforce to unionize, Egalitarius’ management saw a precipitous decline of 80% in its share price. With an eye on saving the company and the executive team’s jobs, Egalitarius’...
View ArticleCapitalism, Unions, and Offshoring (Part IV): Strike!
After Egalitarius’ management launched its cost-cutting program in response to worker unionization, the Widget Workers’s Union (WWU) called for a strike. The union contended that Egalitarius’ cuts...
View ArticleCapitalism, Unions, and Offshoring (Part V): Offshoring
In the last four installments of this series, the Widget Worker’s Union (WWU) brought Egalitarius to its knees with a strike that ultimately forced the company to declare bankruptcy. Before the WWU...
View ArticleCapitalism, Unions, and Offshoring (Part VI): Recession
In the last installment of this series, Egalitarius’ management instituted several aggressive cost-cutting measures to offset the cost of more expensive unionized labor, and Meritocratus’ management...
View ArticleCapitalism, Unions, and Offshoring (Part VII): Lessons Learned
In the last six installments of this series, Egalitarius’ management encouraged its workers to unionize, and then instituted several aggressive cost-cutting measures to offset the cost of more...
View ArticlePrivate Equity: A Force for Good, or Evil?
Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney has been under a lot of pressure recently because of his private equity experience. Much of this negative media attention stems from certain assumptions about the...
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