I took this photo from a recent Canadair CL-65 Chicago – Madison flight. Doc Searls posted a high altitude view from a BOS – SFO 757 flight.
Daily Archives: November 23, 2005
Local Taxes: Accounting Rule Changes on Retiree Health Care Costs
A looming accounting change is forcing state and local governments to fess up to something that’s been lurking on their books for years: Many have made costly retirement health-care promises without planning how to pay for them.
Under a new accounting rule, governments soon must start recognizing their long-term obligations to pay for retirees’ health benefits — and, for the first time, publicly disclose what it would cost each year to fund that liability.
For many governments, the promised amount is likely to be sizeable enough to prompt big changes such as cutting retiree benefits, borrowing money and diverting tax dollars from other spending priorities — or risk a credit-rating downgrade that could significantly boost borrowing costs. Estimates of obligations for some states range from $500 million to as much as $40 billion.
Bill Ford Seeks Federal Help
Ford Motor Co. Chairman William C. Ford Jr. urged the government yesterday to help struggling U.S. automakers by expanding subsidies for companies that make components for hybrids and other fuel-efficient vehicles, as U.S. automakers race to close a widening technology gap with the Japanese.
In a speech at the National Press Club, Ford asked for more incentives, such as tax credits, to prod consumers to buy hybrids and other vehicles with fuel-saving technology. He also asked Congress for money to retrain workers, and to consider tax incentives to help manufacturers outfit old plants with new equipment. In the speech, Ford said a national strategy is needed to respond to the pressures of globalization, which he called the “economic challenge of our time.”
Fascinating. Ford, along with GM and to a lesser extent, the others, gorged on highly profitable SUV sales for years. That strategy does not have legs any longer…