Bye-Bye your 401 etc...

[Toolguyb]

Democratic leaders in the U.S. House discuss confiscating 401(k)s, IRAs

By Karen McMahan
November 04, 2008

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.

Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, in prepared remarks for the hearing on “The Impact of the Financial Crisis on Workers’ Retirement Security,” blamed Wall Street for the financial crisis and said his committee will “strengthen and protect Americans’ 401(k)s, pensions, and other retirement plans” and the “Democratic Congress will continue to conduct this much-needed oversight on behalf of the American people.”

Currently, 401(k) plans allow Americans to invest pretax money and their employers match up to a defined percentage, which not only increases workers’ retirement savings but also reduces their annual income tax. The balances are fully inheritable, subject to income tax, meaning workers pass on their wealth to their heirs, unlike Social Security. Even when they leave an employer and go to one that doesn’t offer a 401(k) or pension, workers can transfer their balances to a qualified IRA.

Mandating Equality

Ghilarducci’s plan first appeared in a paper for the Economic Policy Institute: Agenda for Shared Prosperity on Nov. 20, 2007, in which she said GRAs will rescue the flawed American retirement income system (www.sharedprosperity.org/bp204/bp204.pdf).



MOD CUT

[coastalrap]

No, she used the terms trade and swap for another empty lockbox of IOUs, we’ll take that thank you (confiscate). Trade, or swap if you like your IRA and when you retire you get “pension credits”. Can’t get dollars because that’s too easy to define. A credit can be what ever they decide a credit is. At your death your heirs get something very similar to social security…nothing. Nothing because the gubmint confiscated, oh sorry, swapped it if you prefer, for a box of air, sorry credits. Oh and how does she propose to pay for the good will of the gubmint to donate that shiny $600 annual IOU deposit of credits, not dollars, into your lockbox? Easy, scrap, or as she put it, “scale back” the tax deductibility.

Call it what you want if it's more important to defend your party than your own bank account and beneficiaries.

[monkeywrenching]

Originally Posted by coastalrap

No, she used the terms trade and swap for another empty lockbox of IOUs, we’ll take that thank you (confiscate). Trade, or swap if you like your IRA and when you retire you get “pension credits”. Can’t get dollars because that’s too easy to define. A credit can be what ever they decide a credit is. At your death your heirs get something very similar to social security…nothing. Nothing because the gubmint confiscated, oh sorry, swapped it if you prefer, for a box of air, sorry credits. Oh and how does she propose to pay for the good will of the gubmint to donate that shiny $600 annual IOU deposit of credits, not dollars, into your lockbox? Easy, scrap, or as she put it, “scale back” the tax deductibility.

Call it what you want if it's more important to defend your party than your own bank account and beneficiaries.

if this even starts to be a bill, will dump everything I have, take the penalty and take the cash i have left and not deposit it into any bank at all. I also think quite a few other americans would also do this.

it doesnt take too many people to start a rush on this sort of thing and then a rush on all the banks would start too.

[irspow]

Yeah, but the blind socialists think that people believe in their ideas. Every sane person would do the same. Uh, yeah, I'll give the government everything that I've ever saved to invest for me because they do so well with the rest of the money that they've been stealing from me my entire life.

The Obamanation will first sign an executive order to freeze all of these accounts before such legislation is even introduced to prevent sane people from acting sane.

[monkeywrenching]

Originally Posted by irspow

Yeah, but the blind socialists think that people believe in their ideas. Every sane person would do the same. Uh, yeah, I'll give the government everything that I've ever saved to invest for me because they do so well with the rest of the money that they've been stealing from me my entire life.

The Obamanation will first sign an executive order to freeze all of these accounts before such legislation is even introduced to prevent sane people from acting sane.

actually you might be right, maybe it would be a good idea to cut my losses and pull it before the end of gwb's term.
will have to see what else I can find out before then.

[swbtoo]

Originally Posted by monkeywrenching

actually you might be right, maybe it would be a good idea to cut my losses and pull it before the end of gwb's term.
will have to see what else I can find out before then.

Some good ideas here, and in the previous posters coastalrap and irspow. Sorry, can't rep you and my other favorite rational posters. Not yet, anyway.