Dem Senator Wants Taxpayers to Bail Out Union Pensions

to the tune of $165 billion so that the union workers get to enjoy the cushy pension for now, the future, the eternity.

Union Pension Bailouts are Coming (Rick Manning, 5/19/2010 GetLiberty.org)

"Just when you thought that Congress might have run out of bailout ideas for politically-favored groups along comes Senator Robert Casey’s (D-PA) bill to bailout union pension funds.

"Operating under the benign sounding title, “Create Jobs and Save Benefits Act of 2010”, Casey’s bill is actually nothing more than a transfer of approximately $165 billion in Big Labor’s pension debt over to the U.S. taxpayer.

"...Moody’s rating service has found that large multi-employer pension funds are underfunded by $165 billion. This includes funds that either pay or secure the retirement for many Teamsters, AFL-CIO and SEIU members and other large, politically connected unions. Not surprisingly these unions are using the clout gained from spending their cash on politics rather than pensions to demand a taxpayer bailout.

"Enter Senator Casey and his House cohorts in crime, Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) and Pat Tiberi (R-OH), who have a solution. Keep the benefits for the members of the Multi-Employer Pension Funds the same, but have them guaranteed by the Pension Benefits Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).

"Who guarantees the PBGC? You guessed it, you and I, the American taxpayer. Just another proposal pushing one set of favored constituents over the rest that ensures the dizzying growth of our nation’s deficit continues unabated.

"...Incredibly, among the eight House Republicans who have joined Pat Tiberi in supporting adding $165 billion to our national debt to bail out the irresponsible management of these pension funds are: John Linder (GA), Peter Roskam (IL), Thaddeus McCotter (MN), Steven LaTourette (OH), Jo-Ann Emerson (MO), and Aaron Schock (IL). [All Midwestern states. Not surprising.]

"...It always sounds good to say that you are helping preserve people’s pensions, unfortunately in this instance, Casey, Pomeroy and Tiberi would ask the vast majority of working American’s without a defined pension to put less into their personal retirement account in order to preserve the status quo of union member retirees.

"...This is a seemingly elegant solution that instead could be the tipping point that our debt-stressed economy from which our debt ridden economy is never able to recover." [Emphasis is mine. Read the whole article at the link above.]

Don't you love it? It's an organized robbery and we are told it's for the good of the country. (And Floridians want to execute a man who stole $4 socks.)

The bill, "Create Jobs and Save Benefits Act of 2010", can be found on Thomas; the bill number is S.3157.

Needless to say, Teamsters is all out in support to rob the fellow non-union Americans. They sure have gotten very bold ever since their champion reached the White House.

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