CatYaaak
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2002
- Posts
- 809
It's still taxpayer money, so it still sucks. Perhaps we should go back to all those who worked for companies that couldn't change with the times and dole some out to them as well? After all, being an "airline pilot" doesn't give one any superior moral standing when it comes to making a claim on someone else's money.Mugs said:Don't worry. When it gets to the point of the taxpayers bailing out the PBGC, the public will have realized a huge benefit from the very inexpensive air travel that has killed airline pensions. It just proves that sometimes low prices have other unintended consequences (like when Wal-Mart comes to town).
Here is another thing to consider. We live in a multi-trillion dollar economy that is continuing to evolve to compete in a now globalized economy. Allowing corporate America to shed its pension obligations will be essential to remain competitive. What has happened in steel and the airline industry will happen to all the remaining industries with defined benefit plans. The cost of terminating and having the PBGC / taxpayers pick up the tab will be a drop in the bucket compared to the competitive benefit on a global scale for corporate America.
Horse-drawn transport benefited the economy and the public at large, but I'm sure there's descendents of buggy-whip makers who could use some cash, and let's not forget those poor souls who made the lousy decision to go to work for Wang Computers. I mean, even if you never bought a Wang computer, you still benefit from inexpensive computers, don't you?
The fact that individual carriers like United and others held onto Regulation-era business models (which include massive pension funds) in a de-regulated market, burying their heads in the sand for decades, is not the fault of the flying public, let alone the public at large. Competition and pissing-off their customer base lies at the heart of what ails them.