Interesting conversation and for me enlightening.

I hope I present this correctly, but my question revolves around the public and private factors with unions.

In the private sector, a company who begins to "bleed", suffer losses, or whatever that might effect the workers need to address the WHY and HOW of that loss and if necessary share with the workers and negotiate whatever needs to be negotiated.

In the public sector as with the current situation where government spending is just going through the roof, and ANY adjustments to be made, whether it is raising taxes OR cutting costs, the union members will be effected. They need to pay higher taxes, if that would be the response, etc.

Does this attitude of a county, state, whatever being able to pay forever because profit and loss is not an issue become part of the bargaining on either side ? Meaning if a union pushes for higher pensions than the private sector, do they not realize that it will only be a matter of time or do they look at the entity with which they are negotiating as a body that can do it forever...any realities set in ?

This is an honest question...I tried to frame it so that no bias would be apparent. It appears to me that the government is looked upon as somebody to whom the private problems can not ever happen ???