Well, not exactly, but close enough to make a point... "This is like deja vu all over again."
This VEBA health care funding idea is not exactly new, as Caterpillar tried it back in 1998. Guess what? It didn't work, and now 20,000 Caterpillar retirees have to foot the bill for much of their medical expenses...
So does that mean this new agreement between the UAW and GM is doomed from the get-go?
No, not necessarily, as there was much to be learned from that Caterpillar experience. All we can do now is hope these guys have figured out what worked and what didn't work in that groundbreaking experiment, and have applied those lessons learned to this new agreement.
More here at Alternate Route. Deja Vu?
No, not necessarily, as there was much to be learned from that Caterpillar experience. All we can do now is hope these guys have figured out what worked and what didn't work in that groundbreaking experiment, and have applied those lessons learned to this new agreement.
More here at Alternate Route. Deja Vu?
estreka says:
12:30 PM, 09/29/07
73,000 is a bigger number than 20,000. But, $50 billion is a much bigger coffer than $32 million.
pf_flyer says:
03:40 AM, 09/30/07
340,000 is the number of GM retirees, not 73,000.
hondacura4 says:
06:58 AM, 09/30/07
People are just greedy! Stop putting your responsibilities on someone else, take better care of yourselves, dont smoke, excercise, eat right and more than likely you will enjoy a healthier life.
I read where some insurance companies are trying to base their rates on the how healthy the customer is, kind of like what car insurance companies do (although based on driving record). Things like obesity and smoking are taken into account and it should be as we spend more money on healthcare than anyone.
ateixeira says:
07:59 AM, 10/ 1/07
That may not be a bad idea. Why should I pay more for someone else's bad habits?