Replies

"If something like this becomes a reality, then the biggest dupes were those who converted traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs in the last ten years — and paid income taxes on the conversion in the process."

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.
2 - The Roth conversions were a windfall for the feds. They got to tax money they otherwise were not going to tax for decades.
3 - Does anyone really believe they won't change the rules? I suspect at some point, they will means test Roth IRAs. For example, if you have more than $1M in assets, you have to pay taxes during withdrawals.

My final gripe, in general, is with putting my money into an account that has strings attached. This is true of all these retirement accounts. I would rather pay my taxes and have my money be free and clear of all the rules.

"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.

My final gripe, in general, is with putting my money into an account that has strings attached. This is true of all these retirement accounts. I would rather pay my taxes and have my money be free and clear of all the rules.

This is VERY prudent advice. Earn your money, render unto Caesar, invest the rest. DON'T TRUST UNCLE SAM over a 40 year career. If Jesse Jackson wants your 401k money, EVERYONE in Washington wants it and they have the power to get to it. Stay private and protect your wealth. Read. Learn. Understand. Act to protect yourself from tyranny!