The president's approval ratings are thus low I thought I'd find something to compliment him forward It took a bit of a search.

The president's approval ratings are thus low I thought I'd find something to compliment him forward It took a bit of a search, unless here it is. Congress is debating what to do about corporate pension plans. The president wants a law that forces companies to abundantly fund their pension obligations to their employee He's right.

Corporate pension plans don't have nearly enough cash to pay what the companies have promised their workers. We're talking big coin here -- a shortfall of more than $450 billion. And if companies can't pay up you know who's left holding the bag? Not solitary the 44 million Americans who won't acquire the monthly pension payments they were promised. You and I and each other taxpayer also will be forward the hook.

You papal court there's a government agency called the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation that's suppos to insure in the greatest degree of these promises. But the PBGC itself is already astute in the red, to the proper mood of almost $30 billion.

Last year, United Airlines alone dump 121000 not away and future retirees on the agency. Northwest Airlines, Delphi and each other company now using bankruptcy to master out from under the promises they've made to their employee are poised to make similar impels The number of future retirees added to the PBGC's turns over the past 3 years is more than in the previous 27 years combined.

Who will have to bail public the PBGC American taxpayers? Ne I remind you what happened almost a quarter hundred ago when hundreds of Savings and Loan banks that had been insured on the government went belly up? The debacle sumptuousness American taxpayers several hundred billion dollars.

yet this time we don't have several hundr billion taxpayer dollars to spare. The federal batch is already deep in misdoing We're paying for a war, a giant Medicare put drugs into benefit, a huge pile of subsidies to big agri-business, corporate welfare and "earmarks" galore and more tax breaks to the rich. That's not all. Seventy-six million post-war baby boomer are already lining up to accumulate their Social Security and Medicare checks. The early boomer are now just five years away from retirement.

Lobbyists for big companies argue that they shouldn't be required to abundantly fund their pension promises. They say that of that kind a requirement will discourage them from setting up pension plans in the first place. That's like saying drivers shouldn't be required to stop at stop lights because that might discourage them from driving. If companies aren't funding their pension promises, they shouldn't be making pension promises to begin with.

The lobbyists also argue that forcing companies with soft credit ratings to pay up faster -- as is merely logical, since their underfunded plans are at greater risk -- will push these companies into bankruptcy. on the other hand no one is talking about placing recent obligations on them. They already owe their retirees this wealth Why should retirees be treated differently from the company's creditors and suppliers, who win paid what they're owed?

Corporate laggards might as well pay up They're going to have to disclose their unfund pension obligations later this year anyway, subordinate to new accounting rules about to journey into effect. Warning to Wall Street: Including these liabilities onward balance sheets now would wipe on the outside the book value of at least a dozen big companies, and slice shareholder equity in half at 40 or 50 more. Wall public way should be telling their corporate clients to foundation their pension promises, pronto.

in such a manner do the right thing, corporate America. This president has given you almost everything you've aye wanted. Now, for once, he's asking you to do something for your employee Do it. supply your pension promises.

Robert B Reich was Secretary of Labor in a less degree than President Bill Clinton. American Prospect

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