I wish I had more time to blog when the federal government shutdown was going on, but I can still say something now!
During the government shutdown, many of the employees either had to stay home or work without pay until the shutdown was over. Most of the public sympathized with the workers who had to struggle to pay their rent and feed their families.
However, there were some libertarians who were just happy to see government workers feel the pain, because "taxation is theft" and therefore government workers deserve to suffer.
Don't get me wrong, the libertarians made many valuable contributions to the political debate. They were for the legalization of marijuana and same-sex marriage way before it was cool for the Democrats to say so! They have been sounding the alarm over mass incarceration back when Democrats like Bill Clinton and Joe Biden were trying to outdo the Republicans in who can be more punitive towards drug users/dealers. They were for open borders when Clinton & Obama was trying to have it both ways on immigration enforcement. They were the open skeptics towards America's aggressive foreign policy when the general public was ready for war after 9/11. They also favor the legalization of sex-work when many are still reluctant to do so. They also prefer a non-punitive approach to solving the plastic waste crisis when the "woke" want a more aggressive approach.
Even on economic issues, they still make some persuasive points to the general public. For example, they are the voice for many small-time entrepreneurs who can't navigate the excessive bureaucratic red tape the way major corporations can. They are correct in pointing out that capitalism brings more innovation and life-enhancing improvements than socialism. They fight against excessive tax increases that put a strain on working families.
However, when libertarians mock the pain of government workers facing hard times during government shutdowns, they turn off potential supporters.
Yeah, I know the cliche, "taxation is theft".
But in many cases, the workers working in government are there because they needed a job, and the government happens to be the one who was hiring when they were applying.
Let's put it this way, a person working at Target isn't there because "Target is objectively better than WalMart", the person is working a Target purely because Target was hiring when he/she was applying for jobs, because Target responded faster after filling out the application or because Target said "you're hired" before WalMart did!
Yes, I work for the state government as a librarian. Most libraries are government-run, though there have been more privately run libraries before the government took a larger share. Some private organizations still have their libraries.
I have applied for libraries run by government and non-government organizations! So why am I working at a library at a government-run school rather than a library run by a private organization? Because the library at a government-run school told me I was hired! Simple as that!
If a library run by a private organization was the 1st library to tell me "you're hired", I would be working for that library right now!
The same is true for most government workers! It's all about who says "you're hired" first when you need to pay your bills now!
If you believe that libraries (or schools or nature reserves or public transportation or public parks) are better off run by private organizations, then I encourage you to make the case to the public.
But gloating at employees at libraries (or schools or nature reserves or public transportation or public parks) when they are suffering from government shutdowns DOES NOT help the libertarian cause. Socialist activists MEGA-LOVE it when they hear libertarians supporters gloat at the suffering government employees because such gloating makes life easier for socialist activists to advocate for more socialism.
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Enough about government shutdowns, now let's focus on government-mandated wage rates.
Libertarians do make a good case when they note that minimum wage increases cause suffering for small-time entrepreneurs. Unlike Amazon or WalMart, small-time entrepreneurs don't have enough profits to pay for all the wage increases.
Democratic socialists demand higher minimum wage and yet they say we need to be more like Sweden or Denmark.
But those countries don't have a minimum wage.
What they do have is a system where unions are more widespread and unions negotiate with employers.
(learn more at
“Working in Sweden: Wages, Working Hours and Annual Leave,” Just Landed, accessed April 9, 2019,
https://www.justlanded.com/english/Sweden/Sweden-Guide/Jobs/Working-in-Sweden
Claire Boyte-White, “5 Developed Countries Without Minimum Wages,” Investopedia, August 5, 2015,
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/080515/5-developed-countries-without-minimum-wages.asp
Instead of a mandatory minimum wage, I believe all workers should be offered union membership.
I don't believe workers should be required to join a union to have a job (yes, I agree with the Janus decision from the Supreme Court).
However, I believe that when hired, workers should receive brochures from all available unions, just like how they're usually offered information from all available health insurance plans.
(note: in Hawaii, employers are required to offer, but not force, employees information about available health insurance plans)
Unions do offer valuable protection to workers and can negotiate better deals for the workers.
(note: I spent 13 years as a substitute teacher, a position that doesn't come with union membership and therefore not much due process available :( That experience made me much more appreciative of being able to join a union when I got hired as a full-time library worker).
So instead of having the government tell businesses what to pay the workers, I think all workers should be offered union membership, and that unions and the employers should negotiate all compensation packages circa every 4 years. The workers should also be allowed to peacefully protest against unjust conditions without retaliation from the employers. The government should step in where there are abusive conditions at the workplace. However, I think wages should be negotiated between unions and employers, and that the government should just step in if the employer isn't paying what they promised in the negotiated agreement.
Also, we should ban those Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) that pressures employees to be silent about their experience with abusive work environments. NDAs are meant to protect perverts and other abusers from being publicly exposed for who they are! NDAs are the weapon of lowlife scum to further psychologically harm their victims!
Same thing with employment agreements that don't allow the use of courts to solve disputes. While unions can help resolve workplace issues, sometimes they have limits, and employees should have the right to sue in court. Many employers use mandatory arbitration for the sole purpose of avoiding embarrassing facts to be revealed in public records. All employment disputes that aren't resolved at the workplace/union level should be allowed to go to court!
