In the death throes of the Roman Republic, there were a series of Triumvirates formed – three people sharing total power between them. The first, and most famous, was formed by Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey.
In America today, we face a Triumvirate of Barak Obama, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi.
And their minion are already scurrying around, letting their imaginations run riot on what elements of America they can Change.
Ed Morrissey at Hot Air has a piece concerning plans to overhaul, and effectively eliminate the 401(k) system, from Workforce.Com:
Powerful House Democrats are eyeing proposals to overhaul the nation’s $3 trillion 401(k) system, including the elimination of most of the $80 billion in annual tax breaks that 401(k) investors receive.
House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-California, and Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Washington, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, are looking at redirecting those tax breaks to a new system of guaranteed retirement accounts to which all workers would be obliged to contribute.
Of course, Social Security was supposed to be exactly that – a guaranteed account with mandatory contributions. The 401(k) system has always been voluntary, as is the degree of participation. And employer contributions have become a major tool of employers to recruit and maintain quality employees.
The plan being considered would require workers to put 5% of their gross income into a Government bonds that would pay 3% per year. To offset the cost for low income earners, the plan would give every worker a $600 annual subsidy.
And what, exactly, is the object of the exercise: For the $3 Trillion currently invested in 401(k) accounts to be poured into Government Bonds, to subsidize the national debt. Oh, and as a plus, to eliminate $80 Billion in annual tax breaks for 401(k) investors.
And the way they are going to justify this money grab?
At that hearing, the director of the Congressional Budget Office, Peter Orszag, testified that some $2 trillion in
retirement savings has been lost over the past 15 months.
So, the Government engineered housing and credit crash, which has now rippled through the stock market, is the justification for nationalizing the last control you have over your retirement.
“This is a battle between liberalism and conservatism,” said Christopher Van Slyke, a partner in the La Jolla, California, advisory firm Trovena, which manages $400 million. “People are afraid because their accounts are seeing some volatility, so Democrats will seize on the opportunity to attack a program where investors control their own destiny,” he said.
Oh, and don’t forget that you are already paying 6.2% of your gross income into Social Security (which pays an average of 2%, assuming the system stays solvent). Now you can add another 5% for the new Retirement Bond program. So now, 11.2% of your gross pay is gone, right off the top, plus the 1.45% employee contribution into Medicare, means that you are now going to be handing over 12.65% of your gross pay over to the Federal Government. And you have NO SAY in any of it.
Also, this hurts employers and workers, by taking away a system which has allowed employers to offer matching funds for employee contributions into 401(k) accounts. It will make it harder for employers to recruit and retain quality employees, and will cost employees the monies that their employers formerly contributed into their retirement accounts.
The only one who wins in this scenario is the Federal Government.
And the Triumvirate that controls it.
Tags: Economics, Obama, Trimvirate
