Pay, and pay some more, for the union label
Just as millions of Americans face more inflation and more taxes, here’s another bill, since it’s payback time for the unions by the Democrats:
Doug Ross posts, Delightful: Democrats to stick American taxpayers with a $165 billion bill to pay off the Unions’ underfunded pensions
It appears that bankrupting the United States Treasury was only the first step in the Democrat plan to destroy the American economy. Layering in a new entitlement program — socialized medicine — when the country can’t afford its existing programs was thought to be the icing on the cake. It wasn’t.The final nail in the coffin may come in the form of stealing $165 billion additional dollars from taxpayers to fund union pensions that were mismanaged and misappropriated by the bosses who support Democrats in good times and bad.
Doug points out that the SEIU spent $85 million just on getting Obama elected. I should add that Obama has also made the government owner of automakers whose unfunded pension plans burden the public – so we’re being punched twice with this proposed bill, first with the bailout, now with this. (Is cardcheck far?)
But Doug is optimistic as to the tab total:
Fox News reports (emphasis added):
A Democratic senator is introducing legislation for a bailout of troubled union pension funds. If passed, the bill could put another $165 billion in liabilities on the shoulders of American taxpayers.The bill, which would put the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation behind struggling pensions for union workers, is being introduced by Senator Bob Casey, (D-Pa.), who says it will save jobs and help people.
As FOX Business Network’s Gerri Willis reported Monday, these pensions are in bad shape; as of 2006, well before the market dropped and recession began, only 6% of these funds were doing well.
Although right now taxpayers could possibly be on the hook for $165 billion, the liability could essentially be unlimited because these pensions have to be paid out until the workers die.
Happy yet?
UPDATE
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AJ Strata looks at how Insipid Arrogance Abounds In Today’s Politics, and takes a peek at the future.
Follow-up post:
And how is this sustainable?
Tags: bailout, Fausta's blog, SEIU, unions
May 25th, 2010 at 9:44 am
[...] WHILE AMERICAN’S 401(K) PLANS SHRINK, Congress wants to bail out unions’ overgenerous and underfunded pension plans. [...]
May 25th, 2010 at 10:09 am
Let me guess, Casey (D-PA) is not up for re-election this year.
No matter; we must get EVERY politician to commit on the campaign trail if they are yes or no on this union pension bailout bill. Make the logical connection to Greek financial problems, then we fire all of the yes politicians.
May 25th, 2010 at 10:33 am
OK, you’re right, but I wouldn’t want you to overstate your case.
It is wrong to make taxpayers suffer in order to pay *excessive* entitlements; but I don’t want to see those workers completely lose their pensions, either. That’s a little too Dickensian for me; we’re not talking about Al Gore or Steve Jobs.
May 25th, 2010 at 10:47 am
See me see; I have no pension now that I’m retired but IRA’s from my 401k’s from my working days. I have 40% of what I saved, which according to expert was more than sufficient to retire on; no more. And 25% of the losses were in Lehman Brothers bonds where the brankrupters were given $2.5 billion in bonuses from the assets. No one, and I mean no one, can tell me the status of my bonds. All I get are Democratic talking points from my two senators, no more than that. The very same ones who were aghast at the bonuses given AIG that they authorized, had they read the bill.
So now I am going to go back to work and I’ll tell you this, I want to put every incumbent politician out of work and take their retirement just as they want to take my tax money for the retirement of their union buddies.
I note that the former chiefs of the unions have well funded retirements just like congress. Fancy that.
May 25th, 2010 at 10:48 am
[...] pension plans instead Jump to Comments You’ll end up in a cardboard box on the street, but you’ll be warmed knowing that your tax dollars – $165 billion and climbing – w… This is how liberalism works: the wise and beneficent take from the greedy and redistribute to the [...]
May 25th, 2010 at 10:49 am
correction: I have LOST 40% of what I saved, which according to expertS, . . . .
To angry to type correctly!!
May 25th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Okay, I’m madder than Hell and I’m not going to take it any more! Down with the socialist fascists!!!
May 25th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
[...] Obama makes us poor enough, will he redistribute the wealth of the union/fed workers back to the rest of us, privately employed, folk? That’s sort of a new order of things, [...]
May 25th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
And how exactly will this legislation “save jobs” given it’s purpose is to fund payments to retired people? Perhaps union members would be better served if their unions took the $100+ million they’re reportedly planning to spend in the next election to save the Democratic majority and instead put it into their pension funds.
May 25th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
They’ve run out of other people’s money. I hope we can make it until November, when it’s incumbents out.
May 25th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
“It is wrong to make taxpayers suffer in order to pay *excessive* entitlements; but I don’t want to see those workers completely lose their pensions, either.”
Then pay for the shortfall from your own earnings.
May 25th, 2010 at 5:43 pm
“It is wrong to make taxpayers suffer in order to pay *excessive* entitlements; but I don’t want to see those workers completely lose their pensions, either.”
They dont have to completely lose their pensions. With some reasonable benefit cuts (perhaps 20%-30%, less than our 401k’s have lost) those pensions would be solvent again. But the unions dont want to make those reasonable cuts. They want the taxpayers to finance their bloated benefits. And as long as the dems stay in charge (financed by those same unions) the bailout is liable to happen.
May 26th, 2010 at 12:33 am
[...] Professor Reynolds was not amused: WHILE AMERICAN’S 401(K) PLANS SHRINK, Congress wants to bail out unions’ overgenerous and underfunded pension plans. [...]
May 26th, 2010 at 12:33 am
richard40,
OK then. That sounds reasonable to me.
If the gov’t is going to bailout anything, retirement savings would be high on the list, on a means-tested basis, of course. That should apply to everyone, not just unions.
May 26th, 2010 at 2:38 am
[...] it the SEIU?? Through which, while most Americans 401K plans are sinking, we’re about to bailout underfunded and over generous union pension plans to the tune of $165 b…….because union bosses mismanaged the funds during good times, such as spending $85 million on [...]