Can someone explain how the unions who have been intentionally underfunding their pension funds for years are now possibly set to receive bailouts from the US taxpayer?

Are you kidding me?

The entire congress should be jailed when this occurs.

4/7/2010 12:35:33 AM

um link? so we could have informed discourse at least

4/7/2010 12:36:49 AM

I agree. The entire congress should be jailed. Yep. Jailed.

WELL THOUGHT OUT DECISIONS!!!

4/7/2010 12:38:25 AM

i heard it on tv but google search turns up a few hits (i havent read all of this article yet)

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/Look-for-the-union-agenda_-and-get-ready-to-pay-89604917.html

Bear in mind the unions AGREED to the underfunding of these pensions in exchange for higher wages because wages are more popular than pension funding by the union members who elect their leadership

[Edited on April 7, 2010 at 1:07 AM. Reason : this is such bullshit]

4/7/2010 1:04:51 AM

i'll get upset once the mainstream media starts talking about it

4/7/2010 1:07:12 AM

Not to comment on this specific situation, but calling any kind of government spending a bailout is starting to get as old as calling every controversy a somethingGATE.

4/7/2010 1:16:19 AM

^ true, but I can’t blame him for attempting to latch on to good marketing, however lame it may be.

4/7/2010 1:18:14 AM

It is a fucking bailout the funds are in full fledged crisis mode and the pension guaranty is basically broke too. What word better represents exactly what this is.

I don't have a pension, what do I get?

4/7/2010 1:27:59 AM

I have somewhat of an insight on this subject, having worked for UAW Ford and dealt a bit with their retiree benefits program.

Basically, the unions promised these workers the world. They said once they retired, they'd get full benefits (medical, dental, vision, with small or no copays for everything) until they died. They also allowed them to have grandchildren on the plan, and even non-related children that were living with them. The prescription plan was originally allowing them to get 90 day supplies of brand name drugs for 2 bucks, and I think it may have been totally free at one point.

Of course, the unions got this because the auto companies had no choice. When faced with a possible strike, they gave in, regardless of the long term ability to pay. Now, they're having to scale back the plans. GM and Chrysler are pretty much stripped, and the Ford plan is significantly worse than it was. Eventually, these pension plans cannot be continued.

If the government doesn't step in, old people will probably die in large numbers. If Social Security/Medicare goes bust during shit storm that will be the 2010s, they'll die in larger numbers. I don't think there's any acceptable solution to this. A government bailout will end up making things worse. It's going to be a hard lesson concerning the power of unions and labor laws.

4/7/2010 1:44:54 AM

Should've let those motherfuckers go bankrupt, so they could've trashed the union contracts that are one big reason they're in such trouble to begin with.

4/7/2010 8:07:23 AM

Fuck Unions, seriously....

4/7/2010 8:43:52 AM

Obviously the socialist party isnt going to turn their backs on the teamsters who helped get them into office so they could enact their illegal agenda

4/7/2010 1:47:38 PM

Thanks for the insight d357r0y3r.

I agree with HUR and Duke.

Will one of you hire the rest of us on TWW and promise us 10Million when we hit 60. Then we can force other taxpayers to cover the difference. sound like a plan? Maybe throw in a jet or at least a chevy Volt.

4/7/2010 2:11:05 PM

Thanks for the insight d357r0y3r.

I agree with HUR and Duke.

Will one of you hire the rest of us on TWW and promise us 10Million when we hit 60. Then we can force other taxpayers to cover the difference. sound like a plan? Maybe throw in a jet or at least a chevy Volt.

4/7/2010 2:11:05 PM

Quote :

"Should've let those motherfuckers go bankrupt, so they could've trashed the union contracts that are one big reason they're in such trouble to begin with."

There's no indication that unions are going to get the type of bailout rallydurham is suggesting, and it certainly hasn't already happened.

He just seems to have pollen in his vagina.

4/7/2010 2:29:18 PM

Quote :

"Should've let those motherfuckers go bankrupt, so they could've trashed the union contracts that are one big reason they're in such trouble to begin with."

I agree. The unions NEED TO GO! They're hurting the companies, and in turn, are hurting us.

4/7/2010 3:47:20 PM

Unions don't need to be abolished or anything, they just need to be completely ignored by the government. If you guys can bargain with your employers on your own, great, more power to you. If you can't, don't go to uncle sam looking for leverage.

4/7/2010 3:54:32 PM

I think the UAW needs to go as well as other large unions. I'm not against the concept of unions, as they can be helpful when companies decide to be douche bags, but with the amount of government regulations and rules, they've kind of outlived their purpose IMO. Now, unions like the UAW are around to pad the pockets of its leaders, and they will use any means possible to have and gain power. They've been shown to use intimidation and fear to get and keep support in companies they're in and companies they are not in. I recall seeing a story where the UAW was trying to unionize a company, and the majority of the people didn't want to unionize. But they used every tactic in the book. Eventually they were defeated though.

4/7/2010 4:01:47 PM

I have pollen in my vagina?

This would be one of the most egregious bills in American history.

What percentage of Americans are in unions?


Look, these clownshows only have another 8 months in office, they are going to try to slam thru anything that gives them a chance to save their necks regardless of how much poorer it makes this nation.

4/7/2010 5:44:01 PM

I'm with GrumpyGOP on this one. Repeal the National Labor Relations Act.

4/7/2010 6:35:51 PM

^^ except you haven't referenced any bill so far in this thread, and I can't find reference to one actually written, to do what you are alleging will happen.

Thus, pollen in your sore vagina. Can't find anything to actually bitch about, so you make something up. Typical...

4/7/2010 6:39:24 PM

Quote :

"If the government doesn't step in, old people will probably die in large numbers."

maybe that could serve as an indicator to people that unions aren't the best thing in the world and it will make them more wary of unions that make outrageous demands. If we bail it out, the moral hazard created will just lead to more problems...

Besides, I don't think there will be "old people dying in large numbers" if the pension has to be restructured.

4/7/2010 8:57:12 PM

God fucking dammit aaronburro.

I agree with you.

4/7/2010 9:00:46 PM

why do unions exist now that we have federally mandated healthcare, social security and minimum wage

4/7/2010 9:06:53 PM

because all three of those things are shittier than what unions can negotiate

4/7/2010 9:34:58 PM

negotiate ? or actually deliver on

4/7/2010 9:45:02 PM

The unions will be able to deliver easily as long as the uneducated masses continue to elect democrats who are obsessed with dicking the real working class of america over.

4/7/2010 9:49:39 PM

Quote :

"maybe that could serve as an indicator to people that unions aren't the best thing in the world and it will make them more wary of unions that make outrageous demands. If we bail it out, the moral hazard created will just lead to more problems... Besides, I don't think there will be "old people dying in large numbers" if the pension has to be restructured."

I'm not saying the government should step in, I'm saying that's the reality. Yes, if there was a bailout, moral hazard would be established, and it would make things worse.

Basically, you've got people living up in Michigan and Ohio that are barely making ends meet, even with these ridiculously good health insurance plans. There's no doubt that if pension plans were "restructured" (they already have been, and it will probably happen again) people will go without necessary medicines and they will die as a result. I'm not saying this to suggest we need more government intervention. I'm saying this is the danger of labor unions, and we're now dealing with long-term consequences. We're also dealing with the long-term consequences of the New Deal, hailed as the great innovation that saved us from the Great Depression. It may have benefited some people for a long time, but it's going to make things a lot worse for people in the present era.

4/8/2010 2:28:41 AM