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The current law is governed by a 1977 SCOTUS ruling which stated that “public employees can be required to pay a “fair share” fee to reflect the benefits all workers receive from collective bargaining. But at the same time, employees who object cannot be forced to pay for a union’s political activities.”  Teachers must pay $650/year for collective bargaining, but can opt out of the nearly $350/year that funds political lobbying and spending by the union — by requesting a refund.

This arrangement is being reexamined, with Justice Kennedy describing ” the mandatory fees as ‘coerced speech’ that violates the 1st Amendment.” The fundamental question, “according to Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., is ‘whether or not individuals can be compelled to support political views that they disagree with.'”

A ruling is expected in June.  If the mandatory fees are struck down, the unions will undoubtedly face financial difficulty, as it can no longer compel citizens to pay up.  How this plays out in a Presidential election year will be even more interesting.

Happy Birthday Frederic Bastiat!

Frederic Bastiat, one of the brightest and most eloquent economists and authors France has ever produced, was born on this date in 1801. Some selections of his wisdom:

“The State is the great fiction through which everyone endeavors to live at the expense of everyone else.”

“[T]he bad economist pursues a small present good, which will be followed by a great evil to come, while the true economist pursues a great good to come, at the risk of a small present evil.”

“When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.”

“Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.”

“If the natural tendencies of mankind are so bad that it is not safe to permit people to be free, how is it that the tendencies of these organizers are always good? Do not the legislators and their appointed agents also belong to the human race? Or do they believe that they themselves are made of a finer clay than the rest of mankind?”

“[A]t whatever point on the scientific horizon I begin my researches, I invariably reach this one conclusion: The solution to the problems of human relationships is to be found in liberty.”

If you haven’t read “The Law”, start there to get a good introduction to Frederic Bastiat. The Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEE), has a free download, as well as many other economic writings available.

Happy Birthday Bastiat!