[The Urban Sombrero]

LOL, you even spell carte blanche the way I do.

But by way of shaking my head like my dog does when he gets a bath, in this you have posed the quintessential, mutually exclusive, would be argument. There ain't no vast right wing conspiracy, Unions made their bed when they laid with politicians, and unfortunately, we get the multinational treatment when we run everybody else out of town. And now would be a good time to point out that the EPA, rains on everybody's parade, including people from Japan. :biggrin:

There is no vast right wing conspiracy, but groupthink is about as old as the human race. The idea that a solitary worker needs a powerful voice of solidarity in the face of Big Coal, or Big Sugar, or Big Auto etc. seems obvious. No denying unions suffer from corruption. The idea that the Big Mammon set can be trusted to protect streams and air quality etc. is laughable. What is happening pollution wise in China is a mirror to our own industrial past before environmental protectionist legislation reversed the worst of the abuse.