Obviously, bailouts are going to help at least a few multiemployer pensions in the short run, but as I showed earlier, the amount being shoveled at MEPs is only a small percentage of the amount needed to make plans whole. The amount in the bill (note: below it is claimed there is no cap) is only 13% of the last-measured unfunded liability for all MEPs. Now, sure, given the profligacy of the current Congress & White House admin, that can be inflated to 100%. No problem.
Certain arguments are so lost that it isn't really worth bringing them up again, but sometimes I feel the need to shout in a vacuum. The federal government never guaranteed any private pensions. Despite its name, the PBGC guarantees nothing, and explicitly was not funded by the federal government; it is better described as an insurance mechanism funded by the private companies offering pensions only. The multi-employer pension funds and the church funds fought to be excluded from the funding rules that apply to the single employer pension funds, because the employers and the employee representatives did not want to have to fund them adequately. This bailout is a travesty.
Multiemployer Pensions: Will the Recent Bailout Destroy Pensions (in the Long Run)?
Certain arguments are so lost that it isn't really worth bringing them up again, but sometimes I feel the need to shout in a vacuum. The federal government never guaranteed any private pensions. Despite its name, the PBGC guarantees nothing, and explicitly was not funded by the federal government; it is better described as an insurance mechanism funded by the private companies offering pensions only. The multi-employer pension funds and the church funds fought to be excluded from the funding rules that apply to the single employer pension funds, because the employers and the employee representatives did not want to have to fund them adequately. This bailout is a travesty.