To the Editor:
Union activism is now garnering visibility, but it will remain unsuccessful in improving worker incomes, which comes only from gains in productivity, and it will sow the seeds of even greater declines in union membership in the future (“Detroit and Hollywood Are Just the Advance Guard. Expect More Strikes.,” Sept. 29).
The tight labor market caused wages to rise more sharply, especially for low-wage workers who were in great demand. Unions saw that, so they are pushing hard now. But when they do drive up labor costs beyond gains in productivity, they only induce more substitution of nonunion labor for union labor, the substitution of more capital (machines) for labor, or more offshoring.
Charles Lieberman
Ridgewood, N.J.
Ending Fossil Fuels
To the Editor:
Petroleum products are so much more than fuels (“How Chevron CEO Mike Wirth Is Riding Oil’s Big Comeback,” Up & Down Wall Street, Sept. 29). Practically everything we buy contains plastic, vinyl, acrylic, nylon, paint, glue, etc., all of which are derived from oil and gas. Pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, fertilizer, and elastomers are also created from oil and gas derivatives. Modern transportation is dependent on fossil fuels, and will continue to be for decades. Most electricity is dependent upon hydrocarbons. Wind turbines are made of fiberglass and rosins that come from fossil fuels; ditto solar panels. All of the metals and glass to make electric vehicles are produced using fossil fuels. Global food production and distribution is dependent on fossil fuels.
The global economy would crash and there would be famine if we “end fossil fuels now.”
Steve Kuxhausen
On Barrons.com
The Return of Sanity
To the Editor:
Congress has decided that it would rather finance spending by issuing debt than by raising taxes (“Shutdowns Come and Go. Why Deficits Pose the Real and Present Danger,” The Economy, Sept. 29). The Federal Reserve and the banks are happily buying the debt and thereby creating new money, which causes inflation. Sanity won’t return until it is forced upon us by external circumstances, and that will be painful.
Philip Dillon
On Barrons.com
Bitcoin Speculation
To the Editor:
While reading Joe Light’s lamentations on Bitcoin’s nonvolatility (“Bitcoin Is Boring. It Needs a Recharge.”, Oct. 2), I recalled that Bitcoin needs stability in order to become a reliable and useful means of financial interchange. It looks like determining whether your Bitcoin glass is half-full or half-empty remains a speculative exercise.
Jovan L. Govedarica
Park Ridge, Ill.
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