According to widespread media reports, both the U.S. Treasury Department and the Department of Labor, are planning to stage a public-comment period before implementing regulations that would require U.S. savers to invest portions of their 401(k) savings plans and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) into annuities or other "steady" payment streams backed by U.S. government bonds.
My Friends, there's only one reason these agencies would do such a thing - the nation's creditors think that U.S. government bonds are a bad bet and don't want to buy them anymore. So like a Pirate or fancy talking con man that is down to their last dollar, the administration is hoping to get its hands on our hard-earned savings before the American people realize they've had the wool pulled over their eyes ... once again.
It's easy to understand why.
Facing a $14 trillion fiscal hangover, the Treasury can no longer count countries such as Japan and China to be dependable buyers of U.S. government debt. Not only have those nations dramatically reduced their purchasing of U.S. bonds, most of our largest creditors are now actively diversifying their reserves away from greenback-based investments in favor of other reliable stores of value - like oil, gold and other commodities.
This growing reluctance couldn't come at a worse time. Recently, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the U.S. budget deficit would hit $1.35 trillion this year. And that's not the only shortfall the Treasury has to address.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is supposed to stop buying Treasury bonds for its asset portfolio, a program the central bank put in place last year.
The upshot: The Obama administration has to find other ways sell government debt - without raising interest rates, a move that would almost certainly jeopardize the country's super-weak economic recovery.
Facing an uphill battle and increasingly skeptical buyers, the government is changing tactics and targeting the biggest pile of money available as a means of dealing with its fiscal follies - the $3.6 trillion sitting in U.S. retirement plans, including 401(k) plans.
The way I see it, the Obama administration can see the financial train wreck that's going to occur. So it's rushing to crack open the safe that holds our retirement money before anyone realizes that they've been robbed.
And if this plan becomes reality, that's just what it will be – robbery, piracy or downright theft. American retail investors didn't sign up for the financial-crisis roller-coaster ride we've been on since 2008. We didn't approve the nation's five-fold increase in lending capacity. And we certainly didn't volunteer to help pay down a national debt that's doubled.
Years ago, Americans depended more upon "defined benefit plans" that promised a steady stream of income at a future date - with the actual amounts determined by our years of service or our earnings history. Old-fashioned company pension plans and even U.S. Social Security are examples of defined benefit plans.
By laying claim to our retirement assets in exchange for 30-year Treasury bonds, annuities or other payout streams, the government will try to persuade us that we're not capable of managing our own money, that the stock market is too risky a place for most Americans, and that we need Big Brother Obama & Company to hold our hands and protect our futures.
What we need, the Obama administration is going to tell us, is a defined benefit plan.
So expect a big snow job, but do not buy it – Obama & Company want to steal your retirement funds, just as Congress has stolen more than $2 trillion of your Social Security over time to a point where they now say Social Security is “broke”.
"Do Not" let them do the same with your 401K’s and your IRA’s.
Tell the Washington Pirates NO-NO-NO!