“The net is that pension obligations are binding contracts and can not be ended because the provider is unhappy with the terms. This includes public pensions.”
Actually many companies have shed their pensions in bankruptcy court, leaving the taxpayers holding the bag via the PBGC. Among the corporate plans the taxpayer assumed are: Bethleham Steel, Colins & Aikman, Cone Mills, Allis Chalmers, Anchor Glass, Delta Airlines pilots, Kaiser Aluminum, Kaiser Steel, Polaroid, United Airlines, US Airways, Westpoint Stevens. Many of these companies restructured in bankruptcy court and emerged without the obligation of funding their legacy pension plans.
Many other companies have ended their defined benefit pension plans replacing them with 401K’s or no plans. The companies do not guarantee the benefits of these new plans.
Agreed. This was my point. Bankruptcy is the merhod to void pension obligations. That was exactly the point I was making. A new law isn’t enough. A new law can change things moving forward, but not backwards.