Jan. 25, 2003 - 22:52 MST

THE WONDERING JEW

Compressed

Late start tonight, must talk fast. An article in the paper this morning says, "Federal pension agency surplus has evaporated."

"The federal agency that insures the pensions of some 44 million Americans, pounded by a succession of bankruptcies, has burned through its entire $8 billion surplus.""The agency, The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., provides protection to retirees in case of business failures."

So, just how shaky is every one's ground ? My pension is supposed to be vested. What the heck does that actually mean ? My understanding that pensions were vested when an employee has worked for a company for ten years. It was my understanding that the pension was portable, change compnies, work another ten years and that pension would already add to the one already vested. So if the outfit paying my pension goes broke and the federal pension agency is broke -- who is going to feed us and pay our rent ?

Its a long article by Mary Williams Walsh from the New York Times Service and goes into the whys of how it happened and what the "Millers Around" are thinking about doing to take care of the situation.

Once the Enron Syndrome strikes. Hard it is. Of course it comes to light that Enron was not the only sinner in the fold.

People out of work because of the actual criminal procedures of the big, bad CEO's and their hench men and women. People whose retirement money was tied up in 401k's, people who are looking for jobs that aren't there, people who are still working but fear for the worst.

Which brings up the second bit of looming tragedy. An article by David Kesmodel of the Rocky Mountain News --"United mechanics jobs in jeopardy," is the headline. Into the article Mr. Kesmodel, if he is right, comes out with this. "United, which aims to shed $2.4 billion a year in labor costs to stay viable, wants to scrap language in its mechanics' contract that caps maintenance outsourcing at 20 percent." Already outsourcing 20 percent, the elephant with his trunk in the tent ?

He reports, "It also wants to remove restrictions that keep it from sending maintenance work to foreign facilities and from selling or leasing any of its three major U.S. repair centers.

The mechanics are already forced to take "temporary" pay cuts. Some of them already have been laid off and the remainder could lose out to the low bidder on a maintenance contract. And a foreign one to boot. And maybe sell the repair facilities, or lease them.

By gosh, there are just not enough McDonalds, Burger Kings and Taco Bells to work at for the ones who will be looking for some work, any work. So, man, void the contract, outsorce all the maintenance work and sell the repair facilities or lease them. Now just where the heck are the mechanics going to end up except on the end of the ishtty stick.

If y'all see an old man on a stool with an oxygen bottle beside him on one side and a cane on the other. An old man wearing glasses and a shaggy hair cut holding out a tin cup or can for alms --- that'll be me if my company goes broke and the smart asses in Congress kill Social Security.

Note, due to the lateness of the hour, this rant has been Compressed . . . . . . . . . . .

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