Fun and games is great, but will Trump come through when truck drivers really need his signature?
As we all know, Donald Trump is a champion of the common man, the truckers and miners and butchers and bakers who keep our great nation running. That makes it odd that he’s been so silent about this:
U.S. senators are gearing up for a battle over how to fix the pensions of about 1.3 million retirees and workers in trucking, mining and other industries. These workers are covered by what are known as multiemployer pension funds, which are maintained under collective-bargaining agreements between a union and several different employers. The plans in the worst financial condition are short an estimated $100 billion to pay out retirees.
Late Wednesday, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives approved a $48.5 billion package that offers forgivable loans to the most troubled plans. Senate Democrats introduced the same legislation Wednesday. But the Senate proposal is unlikely to gain the necessary votes from Republicans, according to analysts and government officials.
As usual, when it comes down to actually helping the working class, Republicans head for the hills. A trillion-dollar tax cut for corporations and the rich is one thing, but $50 billion for the retirements of miners and truck drivers who have been screwed by corporations and the rich? That’s a budget buster, my friends.
