As a nation, we seem to be evolving toward consensus that saddling employers with the responsibility of arranging and paying for health care is an inefficient system. Such a system demands companies develop expertise that has no relationship to their core business. This begs the question -- if not these corporations, then who? According to the GM-United Auto Workers negotiations, the answer could be, the unions that represent GM employees. Is this a good solution for the workers, the corporations, investors, and/or the country? My impressions to date are no, yes, yes, and no.
If I were a UAW retiree, I'd be very nervous about the likelihood that the UAW bean counters could do a better job than GM in allocating the right amount of money to cover future health benefits. Certainly, GM is going to sharpen its pencil in an attempt to fund this as leanly as possible, and even at that, the pot will no doubt stretch the corporation's wallet.
Tesla Roadster sets a record -- travels 313 miles on a single charge
Cramer on BloggingStocks: China's industrial focus helps lots of U.S. names 
Why do we have a weak dollar?
