On Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:50:49 -0800 (PST), Millwright Ron
wrote:


SNIP
The third category is the cost of benefits for retirees. These are
essentially fixed costs that have no relation to how many vehicles the
companies make. But they are a real cost, so the companies add them
into the mix — dividing those costs by the total hours of the current
work force, to get a figure of $15 or so — and end up at roughly $70
an hour.
SNIP

Millwright Ron

www.unionmillwright.com


Can someone please explain to me how in hell it is possible for businesses to
be allowed to pay pension benefits from current receipts? This liability
should be funded entirely from investments separate from the business. The
contributions from the business and the employee should be invested at the
time the liability is created. The only organizations that can justify paying
pensions out of current receipts are governments and that's only because they
_can't_ go bankrupt.


Mark Rand
RTFM