Jonas Elmerraji

Why Is U.S. Transportation a Losing Investment?

John, you're absolutely right if you think that the employees and shareholders are going to be left holding the bag if the big three collapse. The fact of the matter is that companies (not just car companies) have gotten too used to seeing their employee pension funds as assets they can leverage to expand their business. After all, a well-designed pension fund is supposed to be self-sufficient... that's what they pay all those portfolio managers and actuaries the big bucks for.

But if you look at the companies I mentioned, you'll see that these guys make a profit and provide benefits to their employees at the same time (I know, a crazy concept these days). Having worked for one of the biggest pension fund managers in the world, I can tell you that profitability and employee benefits aren't mutually exclusive. Once a lot of companies realize that, the world will definitely be a better place.