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Boeing puts all pensions at risk
One year after the government dropped an investigation into Boeing’s CEO James McNerney citing strikes as a cause to shift production south, the specter of lost jobs has secured huge concessions for the aerospace giant. After voting down a different deal seven weeks prior, on Friday Boeing employees narrowly approved an agreement to keep a major new line of planes in Washington state, at the cost of indefinitely freezing their pensions. “Inside the union hall Friday night,” the Seattle Times… (seattletimes.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
The headline is purposefully misleading and inflammatory with the "at risk" wording. Makes me suspicious of the entire article's purpose and the agenda of the writer.
I don't agree with the writer's political agenda. But I accept his logic. The legislators don't deserve their fixed benefit pensions after helping Boeing workers give-up their own.
I do agree that the writers language is misleading. Switching from fixed-benefit pension to fixed-contribution pension is not a bad thing. The writer's language makes it seem that such a change is going from having a pension to not having a pension, which us not true.
But simply, someone who works for 50 years should have more retirement funds/payments than someone who works only 20-25 years and goes and tajes a cushy job elsewhere or sours in their backside for decades.
As a society we can't afford to have people work for 20-25 years and then continue to get paid every month for up to an additional 5 or 6 decades afterwards.
1. Our government will go bankrupt and be unable to provide for the essential needs if society.
2. Our companies will be unable to compete in the global marketplace, will go bankrupt and eliminate lots of well-paying jobs, whose disappearance will be entirely linked to large payments made over many years to former employees who haven't worked or contributed to the company in years.
While the US was in it's glory years and alone accounting for a majority of the world economy, the economic growth allowed society to overlook the unfunded liabilities that would be paid by future generations of greater numbers of workers. But these Ponzi schemes fall apart when the number of future workers stops increasing.
Fixed-benefit pensions closely resemble Ponzi-schemes. These pensions will be paid at the cost of future workers' livelihoods. There is no way to avoid that truth.
The sooner we switch to sustainable pension schemes (such as fixed-contribution pensions), the sooner we can assure a good future for future workers.
As far as plane manufacturing there will be increased global competition from many quarters. This is no time to sit around and fail to act and let a great company fall into ruin, taking lots of great jobs down the drain.
I do agree that the writers language is misleading. Switching from fixed-benefit pension to fixed-contribution pension is not a bad thing. The writer's language makes it seem that such a change is going from having a pension to not having a pension, which us not true.
But simply, someone who works for 50 years should have more retirement funds/payments than someone who works only 20-25 years and goes and tajes a cushy job elsewhere or sours in their backside for decades.
As a society we can't afford to have people work for 20-25 years and then continue to get paid every month for up to an additional 5 or 6 decades afterwards.
1. Our government will go bankrupt and be unable to provide for the essential needs if society.
2. Our companies will be unable to compete in the global marketplace, will go bankrupt and eliminate lots of well-paying jobs, whose disappearance will be entirely linked to large payments made over many years to former employees who haven't worked or contributed to the company in years.
While the US was in it's glory years and alone accounting for a majority of the world economy, the economic growth allowed society to overlook the unfunded liabilities that would be paid by future generations of greater numbers of workers. But these Ponzi schemes fall apart when the number of future workers stops increasing.
Fixed-benefit pensions closely resemble Ponzi-schemes. These pensions will be paid at the cost of future workers' livelihoods. There is no way to avoid that truth.
The sooner we switch to sustainable pension schemes (such as fixed-contribution pensions), the sooner we can assure a good future for future workers.
As far as plane manufacturing there will be increased global competition from many quarters. This is no time to sit around and fail to act and let a great company fall into ruin, taking lots of great jobs down the drain.
Yep.
If politicians were to have 401K style pensions they might throttle back on the regulations that restrict economic activity and allow more production of goods and services instead of stifling them.
Right on! Because a story about a corporation in the business of making airplanes has nothing to do with airplanes!
This article isn't really about Boeing. It suggests that the legislators who wanted the mechanists to accept the new contract don't deserve their own fixed-benefit pensions paid on the public dime. I'm prone to accept the writer's logic.
Though the legislators don't deserve lavish pensions paid by struggling taxpayers. This was true, long before they wanted the Boeing workers' jobs to stay in Washington state. Their public endorsement of the contract (granted for the benefit of the state's economy) does show that they realize that fixed-benefit prisons aren't essential to a great society. Wonder how long it will be before they introduce legislation to change their own pensions to fixed-contribution pensions like those of most other private-sector workers with good jobs.
Though the legislators don't deserve lavish pensions paid by struggling taxpayers. This was true, long before they wanted the Boeing workers' jobs to stay in Washington state. Their public endorsement of the contract (granted for the benefit of the state's economy) does show that they realize that fixed-benefit prisons aren't essential to a great society. Wonder how long it will be before they introduce legislation to change their own pensions to fixed-contribution pensions like those of most other private-sector workers with good jobs.