Posted by Speaking Just For Me on May 14, 2005 at 17:33:17 (PST):
Another disturbing trend is being initiated in our nation...the elimination of company pension plans. It is real simple. CEOs and board members make huge profits by raping the revenue from the company they are serving, drive it into bankruptcy and then claim there is no money left to pay for their retired workers and current workers.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty, part of the Dept. of Labor, is running a $23.3 billion deficit. If it was a private company, it would have went belly up. The bankruptcy judge, Eugene Wedoff, has set a very dangerous precedent with his ruling on the United Airlines case. Many experts are predicting that this ruling will start a domino effect of private corporations axing their pension plans so that the U.s. government will have to pick up the tab to help those people recover some of their pensions.
Where was that person that used to post on here and talk about working-class people always asking for their government to be their mommies? What about the actions of these great corporations? This type of white-collar welfare costs the U.S. a whole lot more than some poor guy out of a job collecting $20.00 in foodstamps.
The reason for these types of rulings is clear. They want more and more of the workers to invest into the risky and unstable stock market. Traditional pension plans are on their way out, but what was so bad about them? Many people in this area worked hard and enjoyed the fruits of their labors through these pension. Why was that so bad? Maybe the corporations looked back and saw how much more profit they could have taken in without issuing pensions. Just a guess. And our government just sits back and watches without a care in the world about these working families and retirees.
The good-paying jobs went first.
Pension plans for the future are on their way out.
And currently, we still have the government wanting to decrease and strip away our Social Security benefits.
What has happened to this once great country?
But don't forget, our country's economy is booming!