Well, I didn't learn anything really new, and yet I did. The deal that was part of the bankruptcy plan of reorganization reduced GM's obligation to fund the UAW pension plan quite substantially and permanently. At the time, I thought "what's going to happen when the pension fund, now completely under the control and ownership of the UAW, runs dry and can't meet it's obligations to retirees?"

I thought to myself that there would be no way that a political decision would be made to go back and dump more money into the now totally UAW-controlled pension fund to satisfy the UAW. I still (would like to) believe that. I can't imagine any member of Congress standing up in the open and proposing that we give more money to the UAW retirees, who even in retirement make more money and have better healthcare benefits than the vast majority of Americans who are working!

The flip side of the failure of the pension fund is, yes the PBGC would have to step in and pay the pension and benefit obligations to GM retirees. But by law, the pensions and benefits that PBGC can pay are only a little more than half the retirement pay and benefits that GM retirees get now. So if the government--us--have to pick up the tab for the GM retirees, that would be bad thing. But if the overpaid UAW retirees retirement pay and benefits would be reduced to a far more reasonable level, more like what most Americans have to live on, in my opinion that would be a good thing!

What I learned was how close we might be to confronting this problem.