Takeover Of 401(k) Ira Accounts To Finance Government

[Mr. Bill]

Let us not forget that while Obama was running, that Queen Nancy was working on some sort of IRA Excess Accumulations tax, a form of restoration of what was repealed by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. It was on the table in summer of 2008, apparently Obama asked Nancy to table it, and so she did. Don't you just love it?

Damn I'm old.

 

[AgentOrange]

That actually doesnt sound so bad.


The plan calls for all workers not enrolled in an equivalent or better defined-benefit pension to enroll in a GRA, a plan that borrows the best features of defined-benefit and defined-contribution plans, including guaranteed retirement benefits that last a lifetime, low administrative costs, and steady contributions. With GRAs, workers will accumulate savings in investment funds that earn a rate of return guaranteed by the federal government. These funds will be converted to life annuities upon retirement. Along with Social Security benefits, these will replace approximately 70% of pre-retirement earnings for the typical retiree.

On a personal side, a few of my family members really took a bath through this recession. I bet a few would love to see something like this.

 

[Robert Barney]

That actually doesnt sound so bad.


The plan calls for all workers not enrolled in an equivalent or better defined-benefit pension to enroll in a GRA, a plan that borrows the best features of defined-benefit and defined-contribution plans, including guaranteed retirement benefits that last a lifetime, low administrative costs, and steady contributions. With GRAs, workers will accumulate savings in investment funds that earn a rate of return guaranteed by the federal government. These funds will be converted to life annuities upon retirement. Along with Social Security benefits, these will replace approximately 70% of pre-retirement earnings for the typical retiree.

On a personal side, a few of my family members really took a bath through this recession. I bet a few would love to see something like this.

Another voter who wants government to save us from ourselves.

Question: And who will save government?

 

[AgentOrange]

I just want my government to protect me from Banksters. Considering the Governments of the people, by the people, and for the people I would consider it as though we are saving ourselves.

And yes, the only thing worse than a politician is a banker.

 

[Robert Barney]

And yes, the only thing worse than a politician is a banker.

I respectfully disagree. Precisely WHY is a politician better than a bank?

 

[0b1kanobee]

Agent Orange, you got to stop drinking the Kool-Aide

 

[Charpress]

Any way you look at it, the folks who scrimped and saved all their lives are the ones that are going to get screwed.

"Don't have more than 2 kids, it's bad for the world and contributes to overpopulation." Gee, how's that working out? We non-bred ourselves into the minority in this country.

"Don't ever borrow money if you don't have to. Save, save, save. You can then take it out when you retire at lower tax rates." Gee, how's that working out?

"Make sure you have health insurance, even if the cost causes you to keep that clunker of a car a bit longer." Gee, ditto. If Joe didn't get insurance and now has an expensive disease that will kill him slowly, and if the insurance company has to take him despite pre-existing conditions, guess who pays higher premiums? Right. The prudent, sensible guy who had insurance all along.

I could go on for fifty pages. The point is, everyone who f'd off all their lives and don't have squat are going to be supported by everyone who did what they were supposed to do and bought into the work ethic that at one time in the past made this country great.

Here's a nice little statistic: the average 43 year-old head of household in this country has a grand total of $18,750 saved for retirement. Put that guy in the same boat with the 50% of tax filers who will not have to pay any taxes this year and you have a majority of voters who have no skin in the game.

 

[Robert Barney]

People can complain about how big a piece of the pie they don't get, and how big someone else's piece is, but the problem moving forward is that Obama is guaranteeing that the pie is going to get smaller and smaller. At least during the Bush years, the pie was getting bigger and everyone's piece grew no matter how small it was.

 

[scagnt83]

The GRAs/AutoIRAs, whatever the hell they decide to call it, is one of the most socialistic and unconstitutional things to come out of our Government in a long time.

Let me break this down for everyone:
There is some talk of the investment being a target date fund, but there is huge talk .... and more and more of it...about it being the RBond.

-1. A national 401K benchmark is enacted across the board. Employers do not have to meet this benchmark. But employees do have to meet certain percentages in benchmarked plans, to be able to opt out of the AutoIRA. And the major issue in the benchmark is having a certain allocation of RBonds.

-2. Its mandating that all gainfully employed tax paying citizens defer a certain percentage of their income (I keep hearing 2%-3%) in some sort of sponsored retirement plan. It can be a 401K, traditional IRA, or the proposed Auto IRAs.

-3. If an employee is contributing to their 401k at work but that 401k does not meet the benchmark, they are still required to do the AutoIRA. This is automatically set up through your employers payroll and directly deducted from your check.

-4. All of this is in addition to what we already pay SS.


Now lets look at the actual AutoIRAs themselves.
The only investment is the newly proposed government R-Bond. After 10 years they will give you the ability to roll it into a traditional or roth IRA.

Congress claims that because the AutoIRA accounts will be so small, no investment bank will want to deal with managing the money inside of them. This is pure BS! Any financial advisor out there would jump all over managing mandatory contributions (no matter how small) from the majority of workers in the US! It will be in the billions very quickly! Id take a 1% management fee from that in a heartbeat!!!!!


But the biggest issue here is what is a bond?
Its a loan. Its issued debt by definition.
Corporations issue bonds to raise capital. So does the government!

This is a government mandated loan from all gainfully employed citizens is what it is!!!! No matter if its in your 401k or your AutoIRA you are going to be forced to give the government no less than a ten year loan....

 

[Charpress]

A forced loan to an entity that is on the road to bankruptcy and default. Sounds like a great deal to me. Just think Argentina every time someone says "But it is guaranteed by the government."