If I ask my boss for a raise that he cannot afford to pay me, either now or over the long run, and he gives it to me, whose fault is that?

Someone from management, or the government, signed all those union contracts, didn't they?

While I don't much care for unions, I'm stunned that they're blamed for everything but the weather, while the management people who signed the contracts that bankrupted the auto industry and the government, gets off with being portrayed as helpless hostages. GM and Chrysler went bankrupt because they were poorly managed, for a very long time. The state, in particular the education services, is bankrupt for the same reason.