Treasury dips into pension funds to avoid debt

Reuters ^ | January 17, 2012 | Reuters

[John W]

The Treasury on Tuesday started dipping into federal pension funds in order to give the Obama administration more credit to pay government bills.

"I will be unable to invest fully" the federal employees retirement system fund beginning Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a letter to Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on Wednesday on the Obama administration's request to raise the country's legal debt limit to $16.394 trillion.

[Cheerio]

Does anyone think they will attempt to seize private bank accounts?

The RATS have been eying 401Ks for sometime now. Trillions there - ripe for the plucking. I heard the Feds want to have it thrown into the bankrupt Socialism Security "trust fund" - that way there will be no passing it on to your children.

[SgtHooper]

Bingo! Love this one.

[Fee]

Freepers need to remember when the bank or gov is broke, all promises will be broken.

[dagogo redux]

“Freepers need to remember when the bank or gov is broke, all promises will be broken.”
____________________________________________________________________

And what trustworthy person is it, exactly, who has made what sacred promise to my benefit, that I should remember this?

[Colorado Cowgirl]

In 2006 the Federal workforce (latest numbers) were Whites 60.6%, Blacks 15.2%, Hispanics 5.5%, Pacific Islanders 4.7 % and American Indians 1.8%. Hey Hinckley, my better half is from Swanton, just up the road from you.

[NumbersGeek]

Yes you are correct. They will take care of themselves well before us. One thing we can do to keep these idiots from bankrupting America, is to eliminate 100% of pension and medical benefits to all the government criminals once they retire. This should focus on every past and future member of congress and presidents.

[greeneyes]

“On a serious note, how far do you think Obama will go with seizing our retirement and cash accounts?

Or is this the stuff of Alex Jones and Gerald Celente?”

Well, FDR confiscated Gold, in exchange for paper dollars. Once the government had the gold, they devalued the currency, hence it took a lot more dollars to equal the same amount of gold.

Had the people been allowed to keep the Gold, they would have been protected against the devaluation. Same thing as stealing to me.

In addition to a flight to safety, the price of Gold is soaring because of the printing of money by the Fed.

Yes, I think they will come after the 401k’s. They will sell the idea as helping the American people who lost so much when the market tanked, and will restore some or all of that loss @ some designated %, if people liquidate and trade it for a Treasury acct. Or some such scheme.

So they get the money and you get the IOU from the Treasury.

[org.whodat]

Duh, they never invested it to start with, the only thing there is another stack of government IOU’s.

[danielmryan]

In many a way, government finance nowadays is like Herman Hesse's Glass Bead Game. I'm pretty sure that everyone who's hip-deep in it secretly knows that the national debt will never be paid off.

The trouble is, it's not like the Glass Bead Game in this crucial respect: the GBG was totally detached from ordinary life, but the government-budget folderol has to meet real life. The government checks have to yield cash.

[mazda77]

I’ll wager congressional pensions are off limits.

You did notice the article said federal workers now didn't you?

[SF_Redux]

there are many more NON-union retiring/retired employees that will take the hit

[ronnie raygun]

I believe they did this in Hungary just rescently

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

If the GOP does not use this for their own advantage, they are idiots with no hope.

Instead they will allow the Dems to frame the issue. (We need to raise taxes, blah blah blah)

GOP: no balls, no brains.

[battletank]

The sewage metaphor is priceless!!! May I use it elsewhere on the internet?

[mewzilla]

Like the use of the Treasury's Exchange Stabilization Fund underway for weeks, the Treasury's use of "G Fund" money postpones any breach of the $15.194 trillion statutory debt limit.

I'm having a problem getting a link for the above citation to work, but I wonder if that's the fund being referenced.

[ScottinVA]

I wouldn`t be surprised to see them attempt to sequester private bank accounts, but it won`t happen until Obama`s reelection is locked down.

[stylin19a]

thanks...good find. Exchange Stabilization Fund

[mewzilla]

That was the link! Thank you very much! Is that the fund being referenced, do you think? And if so, what the heck is it?!

[mewzilla]

From the horse's mouth.....

Exchange Stabilization Fund

[RipSawyer]

“Or is this the stuff of Alex Jones and Gerald Celente?”
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“The stuff of Alex Jones and Gerald Celente” is much more closely aligned with reality than most of what is reported on the official propaganda outlets. The government is releasing pure BS on a daily basis. Amazingly, a lot of people are still saying, “It can’t happen in America” about things that ARE happening in America and have been happening for a long, long time.