Obama car czar stiffs autoworker pensions? Say it isn't so

I've been toying with the idea of writing a piece on the Sotomayor nomination for The Nation. I'm convinced she's going to go through with flying colors because she has the pedigree and the legal chops for the job. But the lack of sustained coverage on her business rulings in order to focus on the affirmative action stuff troubles me. It further crystalizes the concerns I have about our reaction to Obama.

Take Monday's news about GM's bankruptcy. Yesterday I wrote about the opportunity Detroit has to renew itself in the wake of the death of the auto industry. But what slipped under my radar screen until today was the news that Obama's auto czar plans to break the law by using retiree pensions to pay off creditors. Cash in the insurance fund used to pay autoworker pensions (among other things) would be used to pay off creditors, and would be replaced with GM stock.

Obama has had to make a series of tough choices since he's been in office, granted. This choice, like the others he has made, has no "winners." But there are degrees of loss. His car czar's decision in this case again privileges financiers at the expense of working class Americans.

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