Obama is coming after your private pension funds; time to 'redistribute' the wealth!

Sunday, December 09, 2012 by: J. D. Heyes
Tags: private pension funds, Obama, confiscation

(NaturalNews) Fewer Americans are paying income taxes as a proportion of the population than at any time in recent history, and those who are will likely soon be paying even more of their income to the federal government.

But that still won't be enough to satisfy Washington's insatiable appetite for the people's money; the Obama administration, unions, Congress and the Treasury Department are looking to fundamentally change the way you plan and save for retirement as well.

Led by statists who use the federal budget to buy votes to remain in power, as well as those wed to the notion that Americans don't deserve to keep their own wealth, a major movement that began a few years ago to redistribute $3.5 trillion in private investment funds is gaining ground.

The idea is to seize traditional 401k and IRA accounts and fold them into a government-run Guaranteed Retirement Account, or GRA. The legislation was authored in 2010.

Take control of wealth, bail out union allies

The aim of this sinister plan is two-fold: 1) Spread that money around to those who are "less fortunate," in a bid to create a permanent underclass of voters whose existence is completely dependent upon federal slave masters; and 2) bail out grossly underfunded union retirement plans.

According to a May 2010 Human Events story, one of just a handful of sources that published details about the scheme:

In February, the White House released its "Annual Report on the Middle Class" containing new regulations favored by Big Labor including a bailout of critically underfunded union pension plans through "retirement security" options.

The radical solution most favored by Big Labor is the seizure of private 401(k) plans for government disbursement - which lets them off the hook for their collapsing retirement scheme. And, of course, the Obama administration is eager to accommodate their buddies.

Vice President Joe Biden floated the idea called "Guaranteed Retirement Accounts" (GRAs), in the February "Middle Class" report.

Should this plan ever take effect, it would allow federal masters to gain control over your retirement money "through seizure, regulation and federal disbursement of mandatory retirement accounts," the magazine said.

And no doubt like Congress' raid on Social Security, which has left that fund high and dry, any confiscation of private retirement accounts would be done with the same wink and a handshake to "pay it all back later."

Only "later" never comes.

This scheme is closer to reality than most Americans realize, especially after the Nov. 6 elections, giving redistributionists like Obama what they perceive as a mandate to carry out such policies.

Via the National Seniors Council:

A recent hearing sponsored by the Treasury and Labor Departments marked the beginning of the Obama Administration's effort to nationalize the nation's pension system and to eliminate private retirement accounts including IRA's and 401k plans...

The hearing, held in the Labor Department's main auditorium, was monitored by NSC staff and featured a line up of left-wing activists including one representative of the AFL-CIO who advocated for more government regulation over private retirement accounts and even the establishment of government-sponsored annuities that would take the place of 401k plans.

"This hearing was set up to explore why Americans are not saving as much for their retirement as they could," explains National Seniors Council National Director Robert Crone, "However, it is clear that this is the first step towards a government takeover. It feels just like the beginning of the debate over health care and we all know how that ended up."

The government wants everything and is coming for everything

With Obama's reelection victory, expanded Democratic control over the Senate and increasing influence of labor unions within the administration, don't expect this scheme to die a quick, quiet death anytime soon.

First, there will be "hearings" to establish that only rich people are benefiting from private retirement accounts.

Then comes the demonization of those who have dared to save money for their retirement.

If there is another market crash - and there is every indication one is on the horizon, especially if the nation careens over the looming "fiscal cliff" - then the spin doctors will claim that your money's not safe in the private markets, and that only government can "protect your assets."

Then comes the bill to consolidate all private retirement accounts into a government "pool," a la healthcare, so your money will finally be "safe."

Then the raid on the wealth of this once great nation will be complete.

Sources:

http://www.infowars.com

http://www.shtfplan.com

http://www.humanevents.com