Confiscate 401K savings

[New York For Paul]

I was surprised to hear this. I could see the Dems taxing our 401ks but there is talk on the Bob Brinker radio show that the dems see trillions sitting in 401k plans and they would like to confiscate the money in exchange for future retirement government handouts administered by the government.

[WRellim]

I was surprised to hear this. I could see the Dems taxing our 401ks but there is talk on the Bob Brinker radio show that the dems see trillions sitting in 401k plans and they would like to confiscate the money in exchange for future retirement government handouts administered by the government.

Oh no, no, no.

Don't you realize, they won't be "confiscating" it... they'll be SAVING IT FOR YOU... you know rolling it over into a combined "lockbox" with Social Security and all those big corporate pensions (GM, Chrysler, Ford)... and then with the infinite wisdom of government financial acumen, they will STOP you from causing a market crash by selling your mutual funds, and instead they will helpfully "allocate" that money in a more user-friendly redistributive manner.

[/sarcasm]

I predicted this ages ago (and everyone said I was crazy... HA!)

Also, watch out for ANY and ALL "tax deferred" savings, whether company pensions, 401K's, IRA's, Roth IRA's, and even those HSA thingees they just started a few years ago.

At a minimum, they will initially "freeze" those accounts via the reasoning of preventing "panic" withdrawals and sales.

Then they'll propose (and pass) some type of "rollback/rollover" where they "reset" the values to pre-August 2008 stock dollars -- EVERYONE WILL LOVE THAT -- and then they'll put it all into a new special "TIPS-like" Treasury Bills (see, that way when China & Japan stop buying T-Bills next spring, the Fed can still print more money!) -- and just have the Treasury "hold" all of those Mutual Funds on everyone's "collective" behalf... see that will help diversify everyone EQUALLY.

Seriously... they WILL do this, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it's accomplished within the first 100 days of Obama's reign. (And just about everyone will think it's a super-duper-great idea!)

Oh, and did I mention that they'll also add in that little provision about everyone engaging in a mandatory voluntary contribution of 5% of their paycheck to their new "privatized" retirement fund (along with another 5% mandatory "matching" from your employer.) And this, of course, ON TOP of the existing Social Security and Medicare taxes.

Then they'll just need to add the law that lets them deduct the mandatory voluntary universal healthcare insurance fees... to be paid to the newly formed Universal Health Insurance Company (UHIC) run by Warren Buffet (you knew there was a reson he was meeting with Obama, didn't you?).

...and then after that, the REAL fun will start.

[/serious style="sarcasm-level: 0;"]

[tmosley]

I guess they want another stock market crash as people are certain to cash out their accounts if this happens. It's a good way to prop up the dollar for a bit longer, while simultaneously making the markets cheaper.

Manipulation is everywhere these days, it seems.

[Zippyjuan]

Congress was conducting hearings on possible ways to deal with the current economic crises. One of the people making a presentation suggested the idea- but there was no indication that any of the members of Congress would even consider the idea.

http://www.carolinajournal.com/artic...y.html?id=5081

RALEIGH — Democrats in the U.S. House have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workers’ personal retirement accounts — including 401(k)s and IRAs — and convert them to accounts managed by the Social Security Administration.

Triggered by the financial crisis the past two months, the hearings reportedly were meant to stem losses incurred by many workers and retirees whose 401(k) and IRA balances have been shrinking rapidly.

The testimony of Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, in hearings Oct. 7 drew the most attention and criticism. Testifying for the House Committee on Education and Labor, Ghilarducci proposed that the government eliminate tax breaks for 401(k) and similar retirement accounts, such as IRAs, and confiscate workers’ retirement plan accounts and convert them to universal Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRAs) managed by the Social Security Administration.

After repeated questions asked by Neil Cavuto of Fox News, Miller said he would not be in favor of “killing the 401(k)” or of “killing the tax advantages for 401(k)s.”

[danberkeley]

I was surprised to hear this. I could see the Dems taxing our 401ks but there is talk on the Bob Brinker radio show that the dems see trillions sitting in 401k plans and they would like to confiscate the money in exchange for future retirement government handouts administered by the government.

This news has been posted in this forum for weeks. But yea, they arnt confiscating it, they are simply "guaranteing" it.

[New York For Paul]

Normally a proposal like this would be political suicide, except possibly in an economic crisis.

I wouldn't put anything past George Miller.

President Ronald Reagan spoke out against George Miller in the seventies and eighties.

[WRellim]

New thread about Media "selling" this to the public:
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=168256

Also go to Google News and search on 401K and GRA (aka "Guaranteed" Retirement Accounts) in the coming weeks, I "guarantee" you're going to see more and more articles on this.

[muh_roads]

Why must the government hold onto it for me? It's one thing to force everyone to have it in a Stable Asset account...it is entirely another to take it and let them sit on it in their own account.

:bunchies:

Seems like they want to pay down some national debt with everyones 401K & IRA's.

[Mini-Me]

Why must the government hold onto it for me? It's one thing to force everyone to have it in a Stable Asset account...it is entirely another to take it and let them sit on it in their own account.

:bunchies:

Seems like they want to pay down some national debt with everyones 401K & IRA's.

National debt? Pfft...no, knowing them, they will blow the money on big spending programs, and they will add our GRA's to the national debt. That's how it works with the Social Security "trust fund," which technically amounts to $2.2 trillion, but which there's absolutely no real money in: Politicians have spent every year's Social Security tax surplus on the general budget, "borrowing" the money and filling the "trust fund" with special issue Treasury bonds in return (which receive interest payments denominated in - you guessed it - more Treasury bonds!). In other words, they're just promises from the right hand to pay the left, backed by future taxes or borrowing. The "assets" of the Social Security "trust fund" are the liabilities of the rest of the Treasury, and they have the nerve to act as if the assets are real. Heck, the Treasury could print up a hundred quintillion dollars worth of Treasury securities, but that doesn't mean it's rich. I imagine these accounts would work in quite a similar way - especially considering I already saw the phrase "Treasury bills" in there. Borrow and spend, borrow and spend!