Government To Confiscate 401(k)s and IRAs For Mandatory Savings Tax?

Government To Confiscate 401(k)s and IRAs For Mandatory Savings Tax?: "Under the pretext of combating the financial crisis, Democrats in Congress have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate private retirement accounts and turn them into government-controlled accounts managed by the Social Security Administration, by implementing a new tax in the guise of mandatory savings scheme.

Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, testified before Congress last month, proposing that 401(k)s and IRAs be confiscated and converted into universal Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRAs) managed by the Social Security Administration."

Would Obama, Dems Kill 401(k) Plans? - Capital Commerce (usnews.com)

Would Obama, Dems Kill 401(k) Plans? - Capital Commerce (usnews.com): "I hate to use the 'S' word, but the American government would never do something as, well, socialist as seize private pension funds, right? This is exactly what cash-strapped Argentina just did in the name of protecting workers' retirement accounts (Efharisto, Fausta's Blog). Now, even Uncle Sam isn't that stupid, but some Democrats might try something almost as loopy: kill 401(k) plans."

GOPUSA - The Loft

GOPUSA - The Loft: "And so we have it... the 'change' we can believe in. Over the last three years or so, Americans have wanted 'change,' and change is exactly what we have received. Since the Democrats have come to power, unemployment is going up and the stock market is going down. The housing market has collapsed, and the power of big government has grown by leaps and bounds."

Newsmax.com - Dodd Admits Role in AIG Bonus Scandal

Newsmax.com - Dodd Admits Role in AIG Bonus Scandal: "Dodd, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, told CNN that the request came from Obama administration officials whom he did not identify.

The provision was the subject of new attention this week because, had it survived, it would have prevented the American International Group Inc. from granting $165 million in bonuses to employees of its financial products division.

While the House and Senate reconciled their different stimulus bills last month, the Treasury Department expressed concern with a Senate restriction on bonuses, noting that if it applied to existing compensation contracts it could face a legal challenge.

'The alternative was losing, in my view, the entire section on executive excessive compensation,' Dodd told CNN. 'Given a choice, this is not an uncommon occurrence here, I agreed to a modification in the legislation, reluctantly.'"

Is Obama going to Nationalize 401k Plans? | eRollover

Is Obama going to Nationalize 401k Plans? | eRollover: "Is an Obama 401k right for you?

401k, Self Directed IRA, IRA Rollover, Roth IRA, Obama 401k, Nationalize 401k

This proposal is in the 2010 Budget and may be a start of a Government take over of the American 401k and Retirement Account system. Obama is giving retirement, IRA, and 401k savers something to monitor closely….

President Barack Obama is calling for establishing automatic workplace pensions and expanding unemployment insurance as part of his spending plan for the U.S. Labor Department next fiscal year. We liken this to an “Obama 401k Plan”"

Piracy Police Want FTC To Investigate Google Cloud Services | Search Journal

Looks like Google is the next big entity to get nickel and dimed by the government.

Piracy Police Want FTC To Investigate Google Cloud Services | Search Journal: "The Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has asked the Federal Trade Commission to open an investigation of Google's cloud computing services including Gmail, Google Docs, Google Desktop, Google Calendar and Picasa to determine 'the adequacy of the privacy and security safeguards' and enjoin Google from offering them until they are.

It wants Google ordered to revise its terms of service, make its security policies more transparent, report all incidents of data loss and data breach to the FTC and kick in $5 million to a public fund to support research into privacy-enhancing technologies.

What got EPIC's lather up was the discovery a couple of weeks ago that Google's vaunted Google Docs service accidentally shared some users' documents with folks who weren't authorized to see them.

Moneynews - Unions Want to Take Over Your 401(k)

Moneynews - Unions Want to Take Over Your 401(k): "One of the nation's largest labor unions, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), is promoting a plan that will centralize all retirement plans for American workers, including private 401(k) plans, under one new 'retirement system' for the United States."

401(k) Plans Need Fixes, Advocates Tell Lawmakers (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

401(k) Plans Need Fixes, Advocates Tell Lawmakers (Update1) - Bloomberg.com: "U.S. lawmakers should reform retirement plans after 401(k) and Individual Retirement Accounts lost more than $2 trillion in value since October 2007, a group of consumer and labor groups said.

The new consumer-labor group, “Retirement USA,” backed by the Pension Rights Center, the Service Employees International Union and the Economic Policy Institute, said the flagging economy has highlighted the inadequacies of 401(k) plans and increased the need for alternatives such as government-managed funds run with professional oversight."

U.S. may need new retirement savings plans: lawmaker | U.S. | Reuters

U.S. may need new retirement savings plans: lawmaker | U.S. | Reuters: "The United States may need to create another kind of retirement security program now that trillions of dollars have evaporated from workers' retirement savings, a senior Democratic lawmaker said on Tuesday.

For too many Americans, the 401(k) plans that dominate U.S. private-sector retirement savings 'have become little more than a high-stakes crap shoot,' said Rep. George Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.

'If you didn't take your retirement savings out of the market before the (stock market) crash, you are likely to take years to recoup your losses, if at all,' the California Democrat said. The 401(k) plans are tax-advantaged savings plans named after a provision of the U.S. tax code.

In the short term, the United States should preserve and strengthen 401(k) plans and root out hidden fees that are eating up much of workers' savings, Miller told a hearing on retirement security."

Why it’s time to create an auto-IRA - Money Features

Why it’s time to create an auto-IRA - Money Features: "Tucked in among the ambitious programs laid out in President Barack Obama’s proposed 2010 budget yesterday was a welcome provision for employees of small businesses: the creation of an automatic Individual Retirement Account (IRA). As Obama pointed out in his budget proposal, some 75 million Americans—roughly half of all workers—lack any sort of employer-based retirement plan, such as a 401(k). And that group includes most employees of small businesses."