[Brent85]

Midland Daily News - Our View: Let's get real (broken link)

[allbusiness]

Thanks. I sent that to a few people at work. I agree things are not so bad -- especially if you live in West Michigan and have lived more than 40 yars or so. It's amazing what a little perspective will do for you!

I lived and worked through the recessions of 1981 and 1991, plus the deathly 6 months after 9-11. This current downturn is rough, but I think, unlike the other downturns, that this one will reshape us in a permanent way. For the better.

Our current woes are mostly self-made anyway. Legacy costs of outrageous pensions and defined-benefit retirement plans as well as rising health care costs for longer-living retirees are killing our cities, townships, counties, and school discricts, not to mention large manufacturing companies. This was 100% union driven and seemed like a good thing at the time. Now the current attitude among those who were on the receiving end is, "I've got mine. So long, I'm headed for retirement in Arizona. Good luck with the mess we left you."

The gradual switch to self-funded retirements (defined contribution plans like 401-k) will take another decade to even begin to solve those problems.

/ soapbox

[suydam]

abolishing, or dramatically extending term limits would help too... nobody can figure out how to right a ship, or fix a broken machine when they get kicked out just as they finally get comfortable with the job.