Pat Oliphant for February 18, 2009

would be more accurate if the “wretched beggars” were in top hat and tails sticking their hand out of their chauffeur-driven gas-guzzling limousine … or climbing out of their personal Lear jet

They are asking for money to pay pensions because their pension fund lost money in the downturn. So did everyone else’s fund. We have to live with it, why can’t they?

Well, Molly, since you asked– GM et al are facing huge pension obligations from promises made to past workers. In the face of downsizing and costcutting, and in comparison to bleeep manufacturers, tey are faced with these legacy costs that are dragging them down. If they go under, the obligations are transferred to the PBGC. If too many companies go under, the PBGC goes under and the government is going to have to prop it up anyway. Maybe you are lucky and have a pension with a company that is doing well and expects to do well in the future. If you’re talking about a 401k, then you’re on your own–that’s the way it is set up. A lot of us are in that boat, unfortunately.

rmy -I would feel so sorry for those GM Pensioners, eventually propped up by the government, or aka, our taxes, except most of us don’t have a pension. We just saved what we could through the years. We sit here in our cheap houses and watch those GM Pensioners come in and buy up our land, and build houses 6 times as expensive as what we have, and then read about how we need to bail them out. My sister has never had insurance. Nobody bailed her out when she had breast cancer. Excuse me while I don’t care about GM.

teaug- that is why affordable health care should be available for everyone in this country.