A ripple of economic anxiety passed through middle America this spring when a bankrupt United Airlines ditched its pension obligations and General Motors announced it would cut 25,000 jobs. That’s capitalism, you may say: Individual companies rise and fall, and America’s prosperity should never be equated with their fortunes. But United’s abandonment of its pensions […]
Private Equity
Posted inColumns
End of the Private New Deal
A ripple of economic anxiety passed through middle America this spring when a bankrupt United Airlines ditched its pension obligations and General Motors announced it would cut 25,000 jobs. That’s capitalism, you may say: Individual companies rise and fall, and America’s prosperity should never be equated with their fortunes. But United’s abandonment of its pensions […]
Posted inArticle
Private Eyes
When it comes to pensions, President Bush’s administration seems to practice a strange double standard: Private pensions are assumed to be superior to the current system simply because they are, well, private. And so the president has stuck adamantly to the line that the solution to Social Security’s perceived problems is privatization. But in reality, […]
Posted inArticle
Private Parts
On April 27, the U.S. Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments in a case known as Cheney v. USDC, which is often referred to as Vice President Dick Cheney’s attempt to assert executive privilege over the records of his 2001 National Energy Policy Development Group. Christopher H. Schroeder, acting Assistant Attorney General in Bill Clinton’s […]
