metesky just said that since napscoordinator had been in the military for 21 years, naps should know that metesky has the right to express his opinion.
The way metesky said that did allow for some to think he was saying that HE Was in the military for 21 years.
IF I got this wrong, I'm sure I'll be corrected. I think I pinged all the people I needed to.
Obligations of the U.S. government are different than extorted future payouts by a private company. The law is clear that companies can cancel their pension benefits, and that the only promises that are contractual are the contributions made up to the time they cancel their benefits.
I hope nobody here is under the illusion that their company has to provide their promised retirement benefits. You are only entitled to the minimum set by the federal pension guarantee.
It is a good thing to remember, because it will keep you from asking your employer for so much that they are forced to change the rules later. Like the unions did to the auto companies.
Also, remember that no company that is bankrupt can afford to pay a pension. And that parts of your pension are paid for by the sweat of the workers who are still working.
I think you fundamentally misunderstand how defined-benefit pension plans work. Defined-benefit pension plans are supposed to be funded as you go, with only limited room for deferred funding. Ford was supposed to - and indeed did -set aside money to invest to pay retiree's pensions. This money doesn't belong to the corporation anymore - it is held in trust for the beneficiaries.
If Ford goes bankrupt, the pension survives. If Ford terminates their pension, only current employees legally will lose their benefits. The retirees may not get all they were promised if Ford can't afford to completely fund their liabilities, but Ford's creditors don't get a claim on the pension funds.
And that is the problem - Ford promised more than they saved up for. That's where the retirees are going to get hit. And it sucks for them, because they negotiated their labor agreements in good faith and lived up to their end of the bargain. It isn't the union's fault that Ford vehicles suck.