Guaranteeing Pensions

To all the Nortel workers, I say that you have a guaranteed pension called Canada Pension Plan. Sure it might not be as fruitful as the contract you signed with those knuckleheaded executives who ran Nortel into the ground, but it is guaranteed. It is not that I am without compassion for pensioners; it is just that I don't want the government in the business of guaranteeing pensions. Most especially, CUPE and CAW, who were able to extort obscene contracts from "Generous Motors" and the Government.

Remember when Bob Rae snuck that clause into law that guaranteed pensions of the "too big to fail" unionized companies? What happened? The unions were then able to drastically under fund their pension because they knew that they could get a bailout. It is a moral hazard to guarantee private contracts in public monetary policy. The Government can enforce contracts but should not guarantee them. The dodo birds that destroyed Nortel should not have their poor decisions insured by the government. You need to allow failure to fail in a healthy economic system.