Thursday, March 28, AD 2024 9:16pm

It Isn’t Stealing When the Government Does It

 

 

All those relying on private pensions to aid them in their inaptly named “Golden Years” take note:

 

 

Poland has pulled a destructive stunt worthy of Argentina. It is seizing half of the Polish people’s private retirement funds. All government bonds in these pension-plan portfolios are being forcibly transferred to the government. Since the bonds are no longer held by investors, the government is declaring that the national debt has been reduced by the face value of those securities. Neat trick, including the spin on this Soviet-style seizure: The government is calling the nationalization a “pension overhaul.” The ghosts of Stalin and Lenin must be smiling.

Go here to Forbes to read the rest.  Do not think for a moment this will not happen here.  Governments around the country have long played games with public employee pensions.  As our debt situation becomes more acute, governments will look ever more longingly at the pot of gold, just waiting to be plundered, in private pensions.  This of course is part of a mindset that views all property as belonging to the State, and that what people are able to retain from their own sweat and effort is, in effect, a gift from the State.  If you think that this can’t happen here, it is being advocated now by voices on the Left, most notably by Professor Teresa Ghilarducci, a Professor of Economics at the New School for Social Research.  Go here to read all about it.

 

 

 

 

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Phillip
Phillip
Monday, September 23, AD 2013 7:45am

“This of course is part of a mindset that views all property as belonging to the State, and that what people are able to retain from their own sweat and effort is, in effect, a gift from the State. ”

Also part of the mindset of the “Universal Destination of Goods” Catholics who use this teaching as an argument to ever expand the government.

philip
philip
Monday, September 23, AD 2013 12:25pm

As noted, coming to a corrupt government near you.

401k bad
Reliance on Govt. good
Self reliance bad
Dependent on State good

Ok. I got it. Time for my entitlements.
Because Obama! Thank goodness for New School for Social Research…aka Mein Kampf!

Penguins Fan
Penguins Fan
Monday, September 23, AD 2013 3:30pm

I was unaware of the Polish government’s actions. Poland has had one of the best performing economies in Europe and had not converted to the Euro.

Poland’s two main parties are Civic Platform and the Law and Justice Party. Neither of them are comparable to American political parties.

It was suggested when Klintoon was President that the government take over private pensions and 401K plans. The GOP then would never have allowed it to happen. Today Obumbler does whatever he wants and the Washington GOP is spineless and weak.

I’ll put our money in my wife’s Colombian pension system.

trackback
Tuesday, September 24, AD 2013 10:00am

[…] Stealing When the Government Does It? – Donald McClarey, T.A.C. […]

Tom D
Tom D
Tuesday, September 24, AD 2013 12:20pm

The Federal Reserve Banks and the Social Security Administration hold the bulk of the U.S. domestic debt, years ago it even amounted to nearly 60% of all federal debt (including foreign debt). The U.S. could easily abolish the Federal Reserve and create a replacement ex nihilo, but doing the same with the SSA would be a desperate move. Don’t rule it out, especially after a major event like the first (and second and…) Iranian covert nuclear detonations on U.S. soil.

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