This cartoon pretty much sums it up for the poor employees of United Airlines.
However, for the rest of us, we shouldn't think we're safe from all this. That unfunded pension money isn't just going to be forgiven, it is going to be given over to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. In the end, all taxpayers may end up paying to bail out the PBGC. A rough translation goes like this: United has dumped its obligation to pay pensions to its workers directly into the lap of all taxpayers. So next time you see a retired United Airlines worker you can take pride in knowing that you paid for their retirement and they won't be around to pay yours. So who will?
