Union Perspectives

Why did all these people go to Washington, D.C.? Did they go just to break things? Or just because one person asked them to? Some say they went to take down our government. If that is true, then what type of rule or government do they want to replace it with? As outlined in Machiavelli’s The Prince: there are three kinds of government: principality, aristocracy and democracy. But, others say there are six types of government: three are good, principality, aristocracy and democracy; the three are bad are tyranny, oligarchy and anarchy. The good types are fragile and can easily slip into one of the bad. This happens when a democracy turns into anarchy, and aristocracy becomes an oligarchy or a principality becomes a tranny. An example of this slippage of one government becoming another could be seen in our own country last week. What if they had succeeded in their mission? What kind of government would we be ruled by today had they succeeded—anarchy? Some say democracy is the dictatorshi...

Truck drivers and owners should take a look at how Russian truck drivers are protesting a new crippling tax per kilometer. The Caucasus drivers are striking a road tax, dubbed “Plato,” on trucks weighing more than 12 tons are charged more for each kilometer of federal highway they drive. There are more than 2 million trucks registered in Russia. The 1.5-ruble tax is to be doubled in March to 3-rubles-6 kopecks per kilometer. If truckers refuse to pay the tax, entrepreneurs are fined 40,000 rubles ($634.43 U.S. dollars), and companies 450,000 rubles or $7,109.38 in U.S. currency. If a driver makes 40 to 50 rubles per trip, and the trip tax would be 15,ooo rubles, how are the truckers supposed to support themselves? Adding insult to injury, the collection system has been turned over to a private company by the son of a close associate of President Vladimir Putin. The Russian truckers converged on Moscow crippling the beltway in what they called the “snail,” driving slowly tying up traff...