I wrote: The biggest problem this caused was the pension funds for retired workers. > Congress passed a law funding them, in a one-time adjustment. >
I meant the pensions being paid out to people already retired in 1932. Not the funds then being put aside by workers still employed. This is the "legacy" problem. U.S. steel companies and GM had the same problem before it went bankrupt. In the 1950s and 60s GM had a large workforce. They retired. The company still has to pay them (or their wives). This gives newcomers to the U.S. market such as Toyota and Hyundai a big advantage. I expect there will be one-time adjustments made by the government in response to cold fusion, such as the depression era adjustment to railroad pensions, and Obama's lightening fast bankruptcy reorganization of GM. - Jed
