The Amazing Hypocrisy of the "Right to Work"

slate.com — In terms of practical economic impacts, I think the "right-to-work" controversy set off by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's decision to undertake a lame duck flip-flop is perhaps overstated. If you compare Montgomery County in labor-friendly Maryland to Fairfax County in right-to-work Virginia, your overwhelming impression will be that these are very similar affluent suburbs of the same city. But apples-to-apple comparisons are hard to find and since union rules are highly correlated with other political indicators it's easy to cherry pick points. The conservative parts of America are generally poorer than the liberal parts, but also faster-growing. So if you want to claim that right-to-work laws are immiserating or growth-friendly, you can help yourself to whatever statistics you like. But what's not murky is the absurd hypocrisy that has to go into making the case for "right-to-work" legislation.

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