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Jens 'n' Frens
Idle thoughts of a relatively libertarian Republican in Cambridge, MA, and whomever he invites. Mostly political.
"A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many bad measures."
-- Daniel Webster
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Wednesday, September 17, 2003 :::
I just want to add a couple notes — or rephrasings, maybe — to my brother's post on bailing auto-makers out of their obligations. - I'd like to make explicit that the pension obligations are a debt incurred in attracting labor. "Deferred compensation", as my brother says, but I want the wording I've used to compare this to asking foreign auto-makers to service American companies' debt.
- The guy says the taxpayer shouldn't have to bear the burden of this, and then procedes to coyly acknowledge that what he's proposed is a tax. Kudos for brazen honesty, I guess. But he's right the first time; if the company can't more than meet the requirements of the obigations it's taken on, it should go through bankruptcy. The shareholders should be on the hook for this.
- Above all, we shouldn't reward anyone for taking on obligations it can't meet. Do we tell Cedar Fair to share the debt of Six Flags because it's "not fair" that they've financed their operation differently? What does this tell companies to do in the future?
::: posted by dWj at 10:16 AM
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