Blocking the exodus or repatriation of capital, as some of the newer participants in the international financial system appear inclined to do after they get into trouble, is, of course, the equivalent of the economy receiving a subsidized injection of funds.
Each time the PBGC takes over a bankrupt firm’s plan, it assumes a new claim that comes due as the firm’s workers retire. New claims have skyrocketed in the past few years - from an average of $ million per year in the late 1990s to $ billion in 2002. This year will be worse.