To the Point

Are Corporate Employer-Based Benefits under Threat?

A US bankruptcy judge determined this week that United Airlines could not exit bankruptcy without quitting its heavy pension plans. The decision, if it stands, will mean 120,000 active and retired united employees will not receive the full benefits they have expected. This week's downgrading of General Motors and Ford Motor Company stock from investment-grade to junk status will influence pension funds and healthcare benefits for their employees. Should our welfare, healthcare and retirement security fall on government or private individuals- shoulders, and let corporations retreat from the burden of benefits so they can focus on salvaging the bottom line? Guest host Diana Nyad explores diminishing corporate support for the American family with economists, journalists and consumer advocates. Making News: Pentagon Releases List of Potential Base Closures Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld named today the 150 military bases around the country that will possibly be shut down in the near future. Those named, including Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, South Dakota, will begin the fight to retain their operational status. Patrick Lalley is Assistant Managing Editor of the Argus Leader of Sioux Falls. Reporter-s Notebook: Bolton Episode Highlights Voinovich Independence Yesterday, for only the third time in 22 years, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee sent a nomination to the Senate without a favorable recommendation. Ohio Senator George Voinovich broke from his Republican Party ranks, saying he could not endorse John Bolton as Ambassador of the United Nations. Jonathan Riskind is Washington Bureau Chief for Ohio's Columbus Dispatch.