[Mr. Jeeves]

But the vast majority of those funds are actually invested in stocks and other securities. In order for the government to steal that money, they would first have to sell those securities on the open market, which would crash the stock market.

If the government has de facto control of the accounts, they can just issue 7.8 trillion in new debt backed up by the value of the accounts - they don't have to actually liquidate anything.

[MarkL]

If the government has de facto control of the accounts, they can just issue 7.8 trillion in new debt backed up by the value of the accounts - they don't have to actually liquidate anything.

If they were to do that, it would destroy the market capitalization of every corporation whose stock is held by those retirement accounts. And it would instantaneously convert the USA into a communist country.

Of course, those are the wet-dreams of most of the leftists in government today.

Mark