I would like to point out for people talking about "rent-seeking" that labor unions, under the classical econ definition, are one of the biggest examples of "rent-seeking" entities, and wages being higher than their "efficient" level is defined as "rent"
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Replying to @arthur_affect
By whom is efficiency defined for purposes of this analysis? I candidly don't know enough about the underlying definitions to know whether I disagree with your statement, but to the extent owners offload costs on govt by paying wages too low for workers to buy necessities,
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Replying to @misterbagman @arthur_affect
... can unions be described as rent seeking when they try to impose those externalized costs back onto owners?
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Replying to @arthur_affect @misterbagman
The whole econ 101 concept of "rent-seeking" is very different from the Marxist concept of "exploitation" and trying to use one as a synonym for the other is a very bad idea You concede a lot of ground to the ruthless capitalists by allowing the concept of an "efficient price"
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Replying to @arthur_affect @misterbagman
Steinbeck's definition of a "Red" from The Grapes of Wrath ("Any son of a bitch who wants ten cents when we said we're only paying five") is also the textbook definition of rent-seeking, getting paid more than a totally "free" market would pay you
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And, like the dude in Grapes of Wrath says, fine, then I'm a rent-seeker, you're a rent-seeker, everyone's a rent-seeker Who the hell doesn't want to get paid more than the market will bear
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