Not that the Wal-Mart saga is new, but here we have a classic example of perverse incentives interfering with the government trying to do the people's work (of course if we believe the innuendo in the story). It's basic economics, there is no free lunch. By obstructing economic activity the unions are enriched and in this instance, South Side shoppers and would-be Wal-Mart employees are injured (and as always citizens of Chicago). If unions are so great, they shouldn't be scared of competition from non-union employers. Under competition the union would be forced to improve itself or add more value for its membership.
I think I'm going to start a scoreboard, if I can figure out how to do that. Every time we see some sort of rent seeking or inside dealing we can add points. In this instance the score would read, Unions 1 - People 0. But it doesn't have to be unions v. people, it can be a specific company, politician, individual ward, another state, another interest group, your mom... you get the point.
