Posted on 10/24/2008 5:39:26 PM PDT by Libloather
Eyeing Your Pension Are 401(k)s safe from congressional Democrats?
By JAMES TARANTO
OCTOBER 23, 2008
If you have a 401(k) or equivalent retirement plan, you've probably been watching nervously the past few weeks as your nest egg has shrunken owing to the current turmoil in the markets.
Well, it could be worse. But don't take heart, for what we mean is it could get worse. The market turmoil has some politicians on Capitol Hill eyeing the end of the 401(k) as we know it. Workforce Management reports on a hearing of the House Education and Labor Committee earlier this month:
SNIP**
Sounds pretty unappealing, doesn't it? But in her congressional testimony, Ghilarducci offered a sweetener:
Short-term I propose . . . that the Congress allow workers to swap out their 401(k) assets, perhaps at August levels, for a guaranteed retirement account--just a one-time swap. . . .How would this work? You go back to your districts and meet up with a 55-year-old who had had $50,000 in his account last month and now has $40,000 in the account. He can swap out that $50,000, valued in August, for that guarantee of what would become, if he retires at 62, a $500 a month addition to Social Security.A 55-year-old who lost 20% of his 401(k) because of the recent stock market decline was investing more aggressively than he should have, given his age. Ghilarducci proposes to reward this imprudence in exchange for dramatically limiting everyone's ability to take risks (and enjoy the corresponding rewards) and for greatly increasing government control of Americans' retirement funds.
It is by no means a certainty that Congress or a President Obama would embrace such a proposal, but this is a direction in which things may move if the Democrats make big gains next month.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
“all your life are belong to us”
Democrats won’t be satisfied until they have taken all of your money, and you are left poverty stricken
Another issue McCain should grab with both hands and run with it. Big time.
After almost two years of Democrat control of Congress, we've already lost about a third of our 401Ks.
They can have it. I only got 600 left in there anyway. Pulled out when I saw Barney Frwank let the cat out of the bag. “ Don’t worry there are still plenty of rich people out there we can tax”. To me that is the most telling quote of the election.
I thought they just wanted to tax the 401 investments going in, as if that wasn’t bad enough. Now they want to force us to trade our investments for government debt - they essentially want us to buy social security bonds? They’re going to turn perfectly peaceful middle class Americans into firebombing revolutionaries.
They better not even try. Rush was hitting this today..I missed most of it, but we need to spread the word.
Some of us still think we can do better than the govt at retirment..and some of us didn’t take a hit in Aug..cause we are smart little ants.
The grasshoppers are trying to take over and they will raid our storehouses and impoverish us all.
This has been a line from Jesse Jackson and the Black Caucus for some time..they want our retirement funds..
$12 trillion in retirement plans. Probably now about $8 trillion. Obama will need it for all the millions of illegals he plans to import from Africa and the Middle East to insure your vote NEVER counts again.
Donate, volunteer and GOTV.
They better not even try. Rush was hitting this today..I missed most of it, but we need to spread the word.
Some of us still think we can do better than the govt at retirment..and some of us didn’t take a hit in Aug..cause we are smart little ants.
The grasshoppers are trying to take over and they will raid our storehouses and impoverish us all.
This has been a line from Jesse Jackson and the Black Caucus for some time..they want our retirement funds..
It woke up a few people.
I have been stashing away $200 every paycheck in a TSA, for over 15 years preparing for my retirement.
I hate those people.
I agree. This could be a vote getter for Republicans. Who would trust their 401k with the Govt.?
is this proposal for an optional or mandatory system?
Should consider himself lucky. Some of us are down close to 50%...
I heard Rush and I was so pi$$ed. What about the Roth IRAs? When I converted my IRA to Roth, I paid a hefty tax.
Will I get that back if the Feds take over?
When Clinton was in office, Rubin used to use the Thrift Savings Plan of federal employees to prop up the stock market when it was going down.
mandatory. They are going to take your money and pay it to big businesses in the form of bail outs. At least that is what they have been doing lately
And if they had their way, you would be broke, out of work, and dependent on them right now
..no no...you have a choice
Somebody set us up the Obama.
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