The Crippling Burden of Legacy Costs: GM Is a Health Care Company That Sells Cars on the Side

The graph above shows the number of retired UAW members plus surviving spouses PER active UAW member at the Big Three (data here from the UAW). Doesn't this picture go a long way towards explaining the financial troubles of the Big Three, especially GM, because of the crippling legacy costs? In other words, GM has become "a health care benefits management firm that sells cars for a loss as a side venture."