There was a time when workers at large U.S. companies could count on a good pension when they retired after lengthy service.
Those days are gone for most Americans, who are largely left on their own to save for retirement.
But what about those who worked hard for so many years with the promise of a secure retirement, only to see it snatched away?
Right now, Congress is considering the case of some 20,000 retirees who worked for Delphi Corp., part of General Motors.
When GM filed for bankruptcy in 2009, union workers came out OK. But salaried workers saw their pensions cut -- some by as much as 70% -- and promised health insurance taken away in a deal brokered by the federal government.
They sued, claimng discrimination, but lost all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Now their only hope is Congress.
On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to restore their promised benefits. President Joe Biden has voiced his support. Now it's up to the Senate.
Some lawmakers think having the government bail out pension plans is a bad idea. That it sets a bad precedent. And there was a time we might have agreed.
But we remember 2008 when America's biggest banks and brokerages were bailed out to the tune of billions after their gambling caused the housing crisis. We recall the auto industry got plenty of bailout money, too.
These corporations were "too big to fail" so the feds stepped in. Now it looks like some in Congress think these retirees, who did nothing to cause their own hardship, are "too small to bother with."
That's not right. The Senate should pass this legislation. And if that sets a precedent that our government helps ordinary Americans just as they do big business, so much the better.