Time to toss the union albatross

University of Kentucky economist Ken Troske nailed it in the Lexington Herald Leader today when talking about the proposed auto bailout:

"But the long-term situation is completely different, he said."

"A bankruptcy would allow them to “break promises they made in the past," Troske said. "That's clearly going to hurt workers ... but they've got to get out of those promises.""

The "promises" he mentions are the outlandish union contracts that have played a major role in bringing the domestic automakers down.

And as Kentucky politicians mull how to get their own federal bailout, they should turn their attention instead to repealing prevailing wage laws that make school construction projects too expensive.