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401k/IRA Screw Job Coming?
Market Ticker ^ | 01/08/2009 | Karl Denninger

Posted on 01/08/2010 11:07:28 AM PST by Zeddicus

Now this is a guaranteed rape job.

In a short conversation this noontime that CNBC apparently has omitted from their archives (Why's that folks?) Rick Santelli was talking about a potential to effectively force money into the Treasury market.

Where would they get this?

From your 401k and IRA accounts!

From Businessweek:

The U.S. Treasury and Labor Departments will ask for public comment as soon as next week on ways to promote the conversion of 401(k) savings and Individual Retirement Accounts into annuities or other steady payment streams, according to Assistant Labor Secretary Phyllis C. Borzi and Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Mark Iwry, who are spearheading the effort.

Let me tell you what this is - it is an attempt to prevent the collapse of the Treasury market!

Forcing people into Treasuries as an "annuity" is exactly what Social Security allegedly is. Except that Treasury stole the money that was collected in FICA taxes and spent it!

Guess what? They'll do that here too - you're going to "invest" in Treasuries which of course are effectively a CALL option on the future taxing ability of the government.

The problem is that with an aging population and the immigrant problem (illegal immigrants that is), along with offshoring, the aggregate wage base will drop and thus this is the most dangerous investment of all!

What's even worse is that the government has intentionally suppressed Treasury yields during this crisis (and will keep doing so by various means, including manipulating the CPI - the "inflation index" - as they have for the last 30 years) so as to guarantee that you lose over time compared to actual purchasing power.

THIS HAS BEEN THE CASE SINCE THE 1980s AND IT WILL NOT CHANGE!

I have been talking about this for quite some time and recall writing a Ticker on it a year or more ago, although I can't find the entry immediately.

Let me be clear:

I have no quarrel with the government mandating that you have a choice in your IRA or 401k account to buy short-duration Treasuries - much like the "G" fund that government and civil-service workers have.

But - "choices" have a funny way of turning into mandates, and this looks to me like a raw admission that Treasury knows it will not be able to sell its debt in the open market - so they will effectively tax you by forcing your "retirement" money to buy them!

This may be the only way for Treasury to hold down interest rates to something reasonable in the intermediate term, but doing so will instantaneously remove a major source of funding for the stock market - that is, the monthly and quarterly inflows from retirement accounts.

You can bet this won't be good for you, the ordinary American.

You can also bet that once such an "option" is made available there is a very high probability of the government doing things that either promote or simply don't stand in the way of another stock market crash as a means of "herding" your money into Treasuries - so they can blow it - all under the guise of being allegedly "safe".

Of course this begs the question - what if the government can't pay down the road when you retire, just as they can't pay on a forward basis with Social Security and Medicare?

This "proposal" can only mean one thing - Treasury smells smoke. Maybe you should pay attention to what they're huffing!

And before you say "oh they'd never do that" I want you to read this:

Here is a warning to us all. The Argentine state is taking control of the country’s privately-managed pension funds in a drastic move to raise cash.

...

My fear is that governments in the US, Britain, and Europe will display similar reflexes. Indeed, they have already done so. The forced-feeding of banks with fresh capital – whether they want it or not – and the seizure of the Fannie/Freddie mortgage giants before they were in fact in trouble (in order to prevent a Chinese buying strike of US bonds and prevent a spike in US mortgage rates), shows that private property can be co-opted – or eliminated – with little due process if that is required to serve the collective welfare.

Any questions?


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: brokenpromises; confiscation; cwiiping; denninger; destroy401ks; destroyiras; economy; investments; stockmarket; ticker
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To: laxcoach
"I would argue that Roth Conversions were a scam perpetrated by the feds. Here's why:"
1 - Most people have a larger marginal tax rate while saving in IRAs than they do during retirement when the withdraw. Supposing you only have X dollars to contribute, you are better of with X (pretax) than with the post tax amount in your Roth. The larger principal grows faster, and you pay a lower marginal rate when retired."

Very good point. The whole scam / sham is a crap shoot. I expect taxes must go up with $110 trillion in debt, so maybe converting an IRA to a ROTH now would be beneficial. But, the probability of confiscation is better than 50 / 50, so maybe unlocking the funds from withdraw penalty now gives a family flexibility.

141 posted on 01/08/2010 6:26:22 PM PST by uncommonsense (Liberals see what they believe; conservatives believe what they see.)
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To: glock rocks

I just watched a two hour show on the history channel about the potential results of a REAL pandemic that kills millions of people. At one point they said that a person who knows how to grow food might be more valuable than a stock market expert. I am old enough to know how to grow food with machinery or with the old methods, using hand tools or a horse drawn plow. Maybe I’ll be employable again yet.


142 posted on 01/08/2010 6:31:21 PM PST by RipSawyer (Trying to reason with a leftist is like trying to catch sunshine in a fish net at midnight.)
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To: Alberta's Child

Hey, I resemble that remark, actually I converted in ‘97.


143 posted on 01/08/2010 6:40:12 PM PST by CPT Clay (Pick up your weapon and follow me.)
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To: Brilliant

The last straw. The tresury seeks public comment? How bout we send the messenger back a piece at a time!


144 posted on 01/08/2010 6:43:08 PM PST by CPT Clay (Pick up your weapon and follow me.)
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To: RFEngineer
The other thing this might do is convince people NOT to put more money into 401k’s

Ha, funny thing, that is just what I did last year when I first heard mention of this proposed theft by some of our scumbag congressmen - I cut my excess contributions to the minimum, and am now considering early retirement so as to spend down my portion of this obvious pool of money apparently plum for the criminal $hitbags in DC.

145 posted on 01/08/2010 6:48:21 PM PST by GregoryFul
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To: Noumenon
"and be prepared to give a good account of yourselves

I think 95% of us are f'ed if you're talking about the Almighty :)

146 posted on 01/08/2010 7:06:36 PM PST by Soothesayer9
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To: CPT Clay
"How bout we send the messenger back a piece at a time!"

"You's sends one a his to the fkin morgue! THATs the Chicago way."

147 posted on 01/08/2010 7:18:14 PM PST by Soothesayer9
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To: FightforFreedomCA
Buy British Petroleum (BP ticker). 5.6% yield, capital backed by good resources (oil reserves & company). A $42k investment would give you $196 per month. Or put half in BP and half in Bristol-Myers (BMY), paying 5% yield for $186 per month. A nice yielding investment I've been in for a year or so now is Winstream, (WIN) paying 9.1% (42k gives you $319 per month. Perhaps Altria (MO) paying 6.8% gives you $238 /month. Even lowly Verizon (VZ) will give you a 6% yield.

There are a number of federal tax free municipal bond funds that yield between 4.5 and 6% - with no federal tax - and they pay monthly dividends (MNP, NPY, DMF).

Don't accept 0.6% yield!

148 posted on 01/08/2010 7:47:09 PM PST by GregoryFul
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To: Snardius
(you could hide the cash in your underwear, nobody thinks to check there).

That is pre 12-25-09 thinking.

;)

149 posted on 01/08/2010 7:58:18 PM PST by Irish Eyes
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To: randita
You are exactly right....

And Miller wasn't the only one..."floating" that scheme.

150 posted on 01/08/2010 8:09:46 PM PST by Osage Orange (Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Anyone Who Threatens It)
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To: FightforFreedomCA
$3K a month.

-Barack Hussein Obama

151 posted on 01/08/2010 8:21:55 PM PST by Osage Orange (Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Anyone Who Threatens It)
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To: Lurker
Pretty good trick....

I will start that.......

152 posted on 01/08/2010 8:22:54 PM PST by Osage Orange (Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Anyone Who Threatens It)
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To: Lurker
I've saved $$ since I was 15 yrs old....

My pop taught me....

Had $6k in the bank...when I was almost 19. Bought my first car...with $4k of it...

Kept saving at least $50 a month for years....Then started figuring out ways to leverage that, and now have a real good amount.

I've taught my kids to do the same....My youngest...who's just 21...has over $10k in the bank! Whoa!! Surprised me...!! She's a smart young lady.

But I worry about her future!

153 posted on 01/08/2010 8:30:08 PM PST by Osage Orange (Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Anyone Who Threatens It)
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To: Osage Orange

I vaguely recall that Sheila Bair put her two cents worth in on the scheme. Vipers, all.


154 posted on 01/08/2010 8:39:48 PM PST by randita (Chains you can bereave in.)
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To: Travis McGee

I think this latest workplace shooter in St Louis was “set off” due a conflict with his and his coworkers 401k being supposedly trashed by their company , or something to that effect .....etc

If polidiots ....that watched ENRON and Maddoff (sp?) etc rob the sheeple that just said “oh well we got screwed”....consider our savings and investments for retirement as a source of their cash. They do NOT want to try such through legislation. They will get “tired” trying that IMO. (Pamwe Chete).

Dear polidiot.......take my life savings and leave me no alternative . I’ll show ya a trick .

My opinion.....


155 posted on 01/08/2010 8:53:46 PM PST by Squantos (Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet)
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To: MrB

I don’t think he’s got it all in place yet. They’ll act prematurely, and out of hubris. They also seriously underestimate the anger that’s been building towards them over the decades.

That’s going to be their downfall. Unfortunately, there’s going to be a whole lot of dying between point A and point B.


156 posted on 01/08/2010 8:56:02 PM PST by Noumenon ("Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed, that he has grown so great?" - Julius Caesar)
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To: Travis McGee

We personally strive to never be more than 50% reliant on fiscal US infrastructure and systems for our long term retirement investments.

Groceries / Garden, Guns, Gold/Cash and Gas on hand (AT HOME) to get through at least a minimum of six months of any national monetary crisis, as well as a safe deposit box at your local bank and additional resources stored in a private bonded secure storage facility. A defense in depth per se......

Self reliance is the key .

My opinion !


157 posted on 01/08/2010 9:09:27 PM PST by Squantos (Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet)
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To: GauchoUSA
for the govt employees and all those with defined pension plans, this shouldn't hurt...

but what of us who have to save for our own retirement?....we're going to be slaves again.....

I've feared this for some time....one reason I didn't do much with my 401 last year, and probably won't be contributing much this year either....

Almighty Lord help us please....

158 posted on 01/08/2010 9:10:55 PM PST by cherry
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To: Lurker; Travis McGee

Cash is good. Paper, maybe not so much if we have a currency crash - as is likely. Junk silver coins in easily recognizable denominations might be a better deal. But we didn’t buy a bag when we had the chance. Oh, well...


159 posted on 01/08/2010 9:34:13 PM PST by Noumenon ("Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed, that he has grown so great?" - Julius Caesar)
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To: Noumenon
We've got a couple pounds of pre-63 stuff in a bag in the safe along with all the silver rounds we were buying a while back. But we've got the paper because we figure it'll work 'long enough'. The logic is that we're not missing it right now and if nothing else we can use it to spark up the fireplace.

LOL

160 posted on 01/08/2010 9:40:21 PM PST by Lurker (The avalanche has begun. The pebbles no longer have a vote.)
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