Bringing up 401k govt seize question again

Chapdog

Abreast of the situations
I first wrote this off as rediculous when i saw it up here on JPP. Having been someone who worked in the 401k industry for almost 10years I cant fathom in any circumstance where the government would have the balls to steel 401k's. But now its becoming slightly concerning to me because it keeps making its way to the news cycle and in my experience (granted only 36years) rumors and ideas like this don't continue finding headlines unless there is something behind it.

Government Prepares To Seize Private Pensions
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The government is preparing to seize the private 401(k) pensions of millions of Americans while enforcing an additional 5 per cent payroll tax as part of a new bailout program that will empower the Social Security Administration to redistribute pension funds in a frightening example of big government gone wild.

Public pension plans have been so aggressively looted already by the government that cities and counties face a $574 billion funding gap, according to a CNBC report.

That black hole is set to be filled by a new proposal that will “fairly” distribute taxpayer-funded pensions to everyone, by confiscating the private wealth of millions of Americans. Its proponents express staggering arrogance in thinking that they can just steal money people have worked for decades to accrue as if it’s their own.

Not only would the government confiscate 401(k) pensions, it would also impose a mandatory 5 per cent payroll tax payable by everyone, according to a hearing chaired last week by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.

“This would, of course, be a sister government ponzi scheme working in tandem with Social Security, the primary purpose being to give big government politicians additional taxpayer funds to raid to pay for their out-of-control spending,” writes Connie Hair.

The hearing was a platform for advocates of Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRAs), a program authored by Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York. Back in November 2008, Ghilarducci testified to Congress that 401(k)s and IRAs should be confiscated and converted into universal Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRAs) managed by the Social Security Administration.

“You don’t hold hearings on something you don’t intend to do,” points out the Market Ticker blog. “I hate it when I’m right. I hate it even more when tens of millions of Americans are going to get reamed to pay for the crimes of the handful on Wall Street, and their crony enablers in Washington DC.”

As Bloomberg reported earlier this year, pension funds are already being taken by stealth and invested in failed banks.

(ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW)

Government Prepares To Seize Private Pensions 150709banner2

The GRAs would be enforced by means of a mandatory savings tax equating to 5 per cent of an individual’s annual paycheck deposited to the GRA. Social Security and Medicare taxes would still be payable, employers would no longer would be able to write off their contributions and capital gains would be taxable year-on-year. In addition, workers could bequeath only half of their account balances to their heirs, unlike full balances from existing 401(k) and IRA accounts.

During a Seattle radio interview in October 2008, Ghilarducci explained the motive behind the plan, stating, “I’m just rearranging the tax breaks that are available now for 401(k)s and spreading – spreading the wealth” (emphasis mine).

However, as we painfully learned in the immediate aftermath of the original $700 million dollar bailout, which was originally sold on the basis that it would be used to pay off bad debt, governments that propose “spreading the wealth” under socialist-style financial reforms almost always collect the wealth under the pretext of being the saviors before greedily hoarding it all for themselves.

The GRA program is being pushed by the Economic Policy Institute, an organization housed on the third floor of the building occupied by the George Soros-funded Center for American Progress. The Center for American Progress is a think tank headed by Bill Clinton’s former chief of staff John D. Podesta, who was also head of Barack Obama’s presidential transition team after the 2008 election.

In preparing to seize private pensions, the United States is going the same way as Argentinean government, which in 2008 nationalized the country’s private pension plans, known as AFJPs, confiscating the wealth of millions.

“We have no doubt that here the right to private property is being violated. Not just for us but for society and the world, this is a clear confiscation,” said opposition Radical Party’s Ernesto Sanz at the time.

How will Americans react to having not only their wealth but their nest egg for future generations brazenly confiscated by the government in one fell swoop? If this doesn’t prompt widespread rioting and civil disobedience in America on behalf of the besieged middle class then nothing will.

Don’t be under any illusions, if you don’t have a private pension and think this won’t affect you – think again. Once the pretext has been created that the state can simply confiscate privately earned wealth, they can then come after anything, your gold, your home, your kids and eventually your very freedom. Once the vampire of big government gets a taste for blood, the teeth will only sink in further, and America’s resemblance to third world tyrannies will rapidly accelerate.
http://www.infowars.com/will-americans-follow-french-example-of-mass-civil-unrest/
 
It's the stupidest fucking thing I've heard in a long time. And that's saying something since I have been following Christine O'Donnell's campaign closely and am Facebook friends with Sarah Palin.

If you believe this shit the government should take your 410k and give it to people worthy of living comfortably into old age.
 
I'm glad to hear you say that because your generally in the know of the long term demo-socialist plans.
 
it makes for very provocative headlines, but even if the government were casually considering this bold of a move, they'd better be prepared for an all out revolt.
 
I'm not in the know on shit, other than that if there is one industry that holds both Democrats and Republicans captive it is the financial services industry. How do you think the financial services industry would feel about such a proposal?

Well, that and the fact that the whole idea is so mind-numbingly stupid that the person that wrote the above article should be forever prohibited from ever publishing any written materials that might be read by anyone other than his or her immediate family.
 
What Harkin said:

He plans on continuing to look at ways to deal with retirement including 401(k) plans...

Since when is it the purview of government to be considering anything about private retirement plans...apart from their already unscupulous theft of unfairly taxing them?
 
What Harkin said:

He plans on continuing to look at ways to deal with retirement including 401(k) plans...

Since when is it the purview of government to be considering anything about private retirement plans...apart from their already unscupulous theft of unfairly taxing them?


I like this very much. It's kind of like the "keep the government out of Medicare" nonsense.

Jackass.
 
It is also a taking the likes of which this country has never seen. The court's would never allow it.

I doubt it would ever make it to court. There would be a riot in DC. Approximately 535 fatalities... and a sudden notice by the media of 'special elections'.
 
Something that I have written off as preposterous just as you have.. But today was first day I am wondering why I had to read such crazy talk a few different times within week on news cycles like yahoo, cnbc, drudge, etc. It Just makes me nervous to see it being floated to openly since in the past especially here in MA the news cycle works in concert with the govt in charge here and floats news stories about different tax increase to Boston.com to see what sort of reaction occurs, then picks raising taxes on the one that gets the least resistance.
 
Something that I have written off as preposterous just as you have.. But today was first day I am wondering why I had to read such crazy talk a few different times within week on news cycles like yahoo, cnbc, drudge, etc. Just makes me nervous to see it being floated to openly since in the past especially here in MA the news cycle works in concert with the govt in charge here and floats news stories about different tax increase to Boston.com to see what sort of reaction occurs and then picks raising taxes on the one that gets the least resistance.

Politicians are by nature liars and morons... the only things they excel at is survival instincts and ass kissing. No way would something like this ever pass. It not only would be political suicide, but also lead to some serious kicking of their collective backsides.
 
Something that I have written off as preposterous just as you have.. But today was first day I am wondering why I had to read such crazy talk a few different times within week on news cycles like yahoo, cnbc, drudge, etc. It Just makes me nervous to see it being floated to openly since in the past especially here in MA the news cycle works in concert with the govt in charge here and floats news stories about different tax increase to Boston.com to see what sort of reaction occurs, then picks raising taxes on the one that gets the least resistance.


It isn't being floated by anyone except the extremely stupid and/or the extremely dishonest.
 
Something that I have written off as preposterous just as you have.. But today was first day I am wondering why I had to read such crazy talk a few different times within week on news cycles like yahoo, cnbc, drudge, etc. Just makes me nervous to see it being floated to openly since in the past especially here in MA the news cycle works in concert with the govt in charge here and floats news stories about different tax increase to Boston.com to see what sort of reaction occurs and then picks raising taxes on the one that gets the least resistance.


I agree. This is highly disturbing. It seems lately there is daily reporting of pension plans across the nation facing bankruptcy and collapse and this reporting does little to assuage my growing concerns.

I think we are all holding our collective breaths, but I think we can fairly predict something dire in this area seems to be a possibility. I think of Enron and all those employees who believed it could never happen to them. It can and it does.
 
This is just basic fear-mongering.

On any given day, I can probably find a dozen articles like that about some sort of extreme socialist plans "in the works." The gov't can't and won't ever do this.
 
i may just cash out my 401k and IRA's and pay off my mortgage. Save cash for retirement in a retail account or buy more real-estate or gold bars. Once the house paid off hell that's 2500 more after tax $$ a month I can save in a safe deposit box.
 
i may just cash out my 401k and IRA's and pay off my mortgage. Save cash for retirement in a retail account or buy more real-estate or gold bars. Once the house paid off hell that's 2500 more after tax $$ a month I can save in a safe deposit box.
You do get a better rate of return in a savings account...
 
i may just cash out my 401k and IRA's and pay off my mortgage. Save cash for retirement in a retail account or buy more real-estate or gold bars. Once the house paid off hell that's 2500 more after tax $$ a month I can save in a safe deposit box.

I wonder how that works out w/ the amount you'd save, especially with cashing in a longer-term mortgage, vs. the amount you might earn through a 401K over the duration of the mortgage if you kept it.

Probably not a bad idea....
 
It's the stupidest fucking thing I've heard in a long time. And that's saying something since I have been following Christine O'Donnell's campaign closely and am Facebook friends with Sarah Palin.

If you believe this shit the government should take your 410k and give it to people worthy of living comfortably into old age.

Hysterical!
 
I wonder how that works out w/ the amount you'd save, especially with cashing in a longer-term mortgage, vs. the amount you might earn through a 401K over the duration of the mortgage if you kept it.

Probably not a bad idea....


I did do an analysis of the difference in having a longer mortgage interest + the tax savings verus a shorter mortgage interest - tax savings. It wasn't even close. Take 200k 10years versus 30years. Was all in (including taxes) close to a 100K difference in cost for the longer mortgage.

I think would be interesting to do what you suggest when I have some time. It would require a few different assumptions.
 
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