Jun. 17, 2005 - 21:19 MDT

NICE WORDS

Occasionally I do agree with Mr. Vincent Carrol, editor of the editorial pages of the Rocky Mountain News. When I do it is wholeheartedly. Such is the case today in his On Point column. In full:

Curbing corporate welfare

The executive director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. -- a quasi-government agency that is sinking beneath $23 billion in unfunded liabilities -- said something so sensible the other day that even Congress might have difficulty ignoring it. Bradley Belt acknowledged that his agency has an important role in protecting private pensions when a company liquidates its operations, but went on to explain what that obligation shouldn't mean."

"The analysis is a little bit different," said Belt, "when you contemplate a company coming in for a quick landing, offloading a lot of baggage, including a portion of its labor costs, and then taking off again and flying into the sunset much heather from a balance sheet perspective than was the case before it entered Chapter 11."

"Translation: No more United Airlines please. Now that United is dumping $9 billion in pension commitments onto an agency whose liabilities could be loaded onto taxpayers, what's to stop American, Delta, and Northwest airlines from filing for Chapter 11 at some point and pulling the same stunt ? For that matter, what's to stop General Motors, with its pension albatross from someday choosing the same path, too ?"

"IF A COMPANY CAN'T AFFORD ITS FREELY NEGOTIATED COMMITMENTS, SO BE IT. BUT DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY: RENEGOTIATE THOSE COMMITMENTS OR GO OUT OF BUSINESS."

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That last paragraph of his gets to the nitty-gritty of the situation as I see it. If a company can't be run, putting aside commited pension money safely, they have no business being in business it seems to me.

Remember the convoluted, involuted, destituted Savings and Loan Dog and Pony Show ? Government bailout --- which meant out of Joe Q. Public's pockets.

Quasi-government agency -- heh, half whatted agency ? Was it set up as quasi so that blame could be easily shifted in case of trouble ?

Those United people put in the time, worked the hours, days, weeks, months and years -- made concession after concession to help the thing stay afloat and now face a reduction in pensions that will hurt the heck out of them. I would hazard a guess that perhaps the pilots who are losing the most will have to cut back, sell houses and so forth to stay operating when they retire. Those who made less over the years could stand a huge drop in quality of life in their golden years.

These are the people who kept you and I in the air all these years, safely but what is being done to them is not safe sex by a damn sight.

Bravo - Mr. Carroll my friend NICE WORDS . . . . . . . . . .

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