Cut corporate jets, not benefits for retirees

Re “Employers Chip Away at Retiree Health Benefits,” Sept. 26

If a company cheats its customers to improve profits, the customers can buy from another company. If a company cheats its employees to reduce expenses, the employees can work elsewhere. But when a company decides to reduce expenses by cheating its retirees, what can the retirees do? It’s too late to retire from somewhere else.

How about if the giant corporations contemplating cutting back retiree benefits reduce expenses by selling a few of their corporate jets? Or maybe they could forgo the obscenely lavish executive perks and bonuses, or fire a few lawyers or consultants. Even the stockholders would like that. The very last thing an ethical corporation should do is screw the very people with no recourse and who are the ones who helped it to become successful.

PHILIP SMITH

Huntington Beach