Yet another proposed union pension bailout

If you were upset with the government’s bailout (with your tax dollars) of the UAW in the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies, you may not want to read what follows. GM and Chrysler will be a “drop in the bucket” compared to what Senator Bob Casey (D. Pa.) is now proposing.

What we’re talking about here are multi-employer pension plans, which coincidentally, are used mostly by unions.  These are plans where many smaller companies across an industry will pool their pension contributions into a single pension plan.  And, as you might imagine, most of these plans are terribly underfunded. The problem arises when a company in one of these plans goes out of business, leaving the rest of the companies to pay the benefits guaranteed to the retirees of the “out of business” company.

Senator Casey wants to change all that.  He proposes to:

cordon off ‘orphaned’ pensions–those for which an employer has stopped contributing or withdrawn from a multi-employer fund–and put them in a separate account.  Surviving companies [in the multi-employer plan] would then pay benefits to these to these orphans for five years, after which [the orphans would] get kicked into the PBGC, which would shoulder the benefits until the last retiree or beneficiary dies.

What is the PBGC, you ask?  It stands for the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, and, is run by, you guessed it,  the federal government.  As of last September, the PBGC was running a deficit of some $21 billion, and even without Senator Casey’s proposal, the deficit is expected to climb to about $34 billion by 2019.  Senator Casey claims that:

his multi-employer-bailout scheme will cost [you, the taxpayer] a mere $8 billion, but Moody’s estimated last year that multi-employer plans were $165 billion underfunded.

Personally, both estimated numbers are not even close.  Any company in one of these plans, in order to avoid even paying for the orphans for five years, will simply file for bankruptcy, and, once discharged from bankruptcy, will “open for business” under a new corporate identity, thus dumping most, if not all, of the obligations of these multi-employer plans on the shoulders of the American taxpayers.

Assuming, of course, that after paying to bailout underfunded state pension plans, paying for Obamacare, paying the interest on our ever increasing debt, paying to bail out Medicare and Social Security, etc., there will be any American taxpayers left.

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SoundOffSister

The Sound Off Sister was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and special trial attorney for the Department of Justice, Criminal Division; a partner in the Florida law firm of Shutts & Bowen, and an adjunct professor at the University of Miami, School of Law. The Sound Off Sister offers frequent commentary concerning legislation making its way through Congress, including the health reform legislation passed in early 2010.

6 Comments

  1. PatRiot on June 9, 2010 at 4:41 pm

    What part of "We are out of money!!" do they not understand?

    This is basic math and common sense.  Add family, the Constitution, respect and the will to succeed.  That is all we need to focus on.  The rest will take care of itself.



  2. weregettinghosed on June 9, 2010 at 6:08 pm

    We need to just learn to say NO. We need to learn to say to these people, We the People can no longer support you, there is NO MORE MONEY!  The unions just do not get it, we can not, will not, pay them one more dime – not one more penny for their foolishness!!! We are fed up, the taxpayers are no longer going to support the unions. When we gain control again, they can all take a hike to some land where the fields are green with money but it is not in America! And I am willing to bet they won't find in on this earth. Unions – you are at the end! Obama – go to bed with the unions and wake up without a job, because we the people are about to end your reign!



  3. winnie888 on June 10, 2010 at 12:47 am

    The most surprising thing about this is that I'm not surprised in the least…I wish these jokers would stop "fixing" things and just sit and think about the ramifications to the taxpayer when it comes to their plans for this country.

    But wishing and hoping is for children…



    • Dimsdale on June 10, 2010 at 2:17 pm

      You want a politician to think?!?!?!   Even past his/her next election or self interest?  Surely you jest!



    • winnie888 on June 11, 2010 at 10:56 am

      LOL Dims…I just "hope" too much! bwahahaha!



  4. Dimsdale on June 10, 2010 at 2:16 pm

    Maybe if the unions stopped throwing member money at politicians for favors, they would have some money in the bank.



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