Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
"Forcing someone to pay for something they don’t want, is tyranny."
It comes from this clip by the consistently pro-market John Stossel in response to yesterday’s landmark labor union case, Janus vs. AFSCME, in which the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that nonunion workers cannot be forced to pay fees to public sector unions.
Readers know I am a yuuuuge proponent of voluntary interactions, meaning I don’t believe peaceful people going about their business should BE FORCED by law to do (or not do) things they don’t want to. In this clip, the lawyer representing Janus, Jacob Huebert, makes a similar point.
While I was completing my M.F.A. at City College in NYC, I also taught Freshman Comp. I was forced to join a union. I specifically asked if I could opt-out because nothing the union stood for supported my values.
"Nah," I was told, "you can’t," with an underlying tone of "pay up and shut up!" Since I knew I would be moving to New Hampshire soon after I graduated, I decided not to fight the issue, and reluctantly paid, like you usually do in a shakedown.
Unions make the argument that without everyone being forced to join, "freeloaders" will get benefits without having contributed. To this I say, let free market principles prevail. If you are truly adding value, people will voluntarily contribute. If not, well, maybe your "services" are nothing short of extortion! (And don’t forget those sweet, sweet salaries in the HUNDREDS of thousands of dollars union bosses are making!)
Free people should be free to freely support whatever group, institution, or organization they want. This is why I support Right to Work, and, as your senator, I will work to add New Hampshire to the growing list of RTW states!