Unions in the criminal justice system

Labor Laws

Brief introduction on how the macroeconomic environment affects homeland security and unions.

Homeland security is currently a very contentious issue with the community. In the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, a profound emphasis has been placed on homeland security. Few doubt its importance in protecting the United States in the event of an aggressive act from foreign countries. What people do dispute however how the defense budget is funded? Our current economic cycle is one of extreme turmoil and pessimism on the part of the consumer. Unemployment is nearly 9%. The amount of individuals underemployed has ballooned to nearly 16%, while government spending has been the highest it has ever been. The government has spent so much money that the ratings agency, Standard and Poor's has downgraded America's AAA standing for the first time ever. This was unprecedented as the downgrade depicted the belief in America's inability to pay off its debts. This has a profound impact on homeland security as the government is more prone to cut spending in an effort to curtail is excessive spending behavior. For example, the issue of unemployment has been a significant burden on our current economic recovery. To summarize this research, first, individual who are not employed are saving as much as possible in an effort to maintain their current lifestyle. Likewise those who are employed are saving more of their income in the event of sudden unemployment. This actually is counterproductive to economic growth, which relies primarily on the purchase of goods and services. As a result of this behavior Gross Domestic Product, a highly coveted measure of economic growth, fell far short of analyst expectations in the first quarter of 2011. This, in my opinion is a direct result of lack of confidence. Individuals are in fear in regards to their own personal finances. Unemployment is high, individuals are saving more, and the future is very unlikely in regards to economic prosperity. This is in turn beyond the control of the current legislation and can not be altered unless a subsequent change in consumer sentiments is enacted.

This affects homeland security because its funding source, the consumer, is not spending. If the consumer is not spending, then less income is generated by the government. If less income is generated by the government, the defense budget will not be adequately funded. If the homeland security budget is not properly funded then union workers will get laid off or fired, thus reducing the union's power. We will see real world examples of this in the section below.

Research relating to police unions, firefighter unions and collective bargaining