[hugh3]

And having a monopoly on the supply of monopoly's labor supply is the most profitable monopoly of all

Indeed, and the holy grail of having a monopoly on a monopoly is having a monopoly on government employees. Witness the way the United Auto Workers formed an offshoot, the SEIU, which now dwarfs its parent.

[stretchwithme]

Well, having a union at old Ma Bell or at a monopoly utility was/can be pretty lucrative. And there's never a rate cut. Governments are always fumbling their budgets.

The government unions are so bad because we can't simply decide "well, I'll just write letters." And its easier to build in time bomb benefits. All you have to do is steer union dues and volunteer labor to those that play along.