Deficit for Pension Insurance Plan Swells

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=716&e=6&u=/ap/20040115/ap_on_bi_ge/pensions_shortfall

WASHINGTON - The deficit for the government's pension insurance program ballooned to a record $11.2 billion last year, more than triple the previous year's total, and officials are warning that taxpayers could be called on for a bailout.


The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.'s financial woes are driven by an increasing number of bankrupt pension plans, from such companies as Bethlehem Steel and US Airways, and record-low interest rates, officials said.


The agency's departing executive director, Steven Kandarian, said it could continue to pay pension benefits to retirees in bankrupt plans "for a number of years." The growing deficit, however, "puts at risk the agency's ability to continue to protect pensions in the future," he said.


Kandarian urged Congress to act soon to reform the private pension system. It is being squeezed by low interest rates, a subdued stock market and laws that do not require employers to maintain full funding levels in their retirement plans.

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[indepat]

1. $11.2 billion is a piddling sum compared to the some $500 billion to bail

out the S&L industry, the hundreds of billions so far to rid Iraq of SH and WMD.

[ConcernedCanuk]

2. Interesting values the USA has -No 11bn fo Pension, But over 150Bn for War

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The USA is busy bombing nations all over the world, but doesn't take care of it's young (Education), it's Elderly (Pensions) and then the obviously igsignificant general population - Homelessness, Jobs, HealthCare, Civil Liberties, etc., etc.

BUT , - hey - lets all go to Mars now!

Sheesh, the insanity continues . . .

[banana republican]

3. IF ANY OF YOU HAVE PENSION

Think quick about what is happening....

If you can choose your investments THINK ABOUT IT

This is the next Enron....

[doc03]

4. Steel tariffs and PBGC

Part of the agreement the steel companies and the USWA made in order to get the steel tariffs put on was to get rid of our legacy costs. To do this we lost our health insurance and our pensions were dumped onto the PBGC. Bush refused to do do anything with our health insurance, their attitude was they were not getting into a government
health plan. So all retirees lost their health insurance. Now they will use the same argument to not bail out the PBGC, saying after all a lot of people don't have a pension where they work anyway. Why should the taxpayers bail them out.

[doc03]

5. Cheney on steel tariffs from " Price of Loyalty "

I saw a copy of the Price of Loyalty. On page 221 first paragraph.
Cheney said that they could use the steel tariffs politically for the mid-term elections. Then after 18 months they will come up for review and then we can drop them. When they came up for review a while back Bush* took weeks to make a decision on them, when the decision had already been made 18 months before.