Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Awesome! The Government Wants to Help Me Retire in Comfort!

The AP, via Zero Hedge, reports that the Pen-and-Phone Guy in Chief wants to setup a retirement plan for low income people consisting of US Treasuries.
Eager not to be limited by legislative gridlock, Obama is also expected to announce executive actions on job training, retirement security and help for the long-term unemployed in finding work.

Among those actions is a new retirement savings plan geared toward workers whose employers don't currently offer such plans.

The program would allow first-time savers to start building up savings in Treasury bonds that eventually could be converted into a traditional IRAs, according to two people who have discussed the proposal with the administration. Those people weren't authorized to discuss it ahead of the announcement and insisted on anonymity.
A couple thoughts come to mind.

1)  Selling Treasuries today, given that rates are artificially suppressed and the creditworthiness of the federal government is seriously degraded, might just qualify as an investment scam worthy of SEC investigation.

2)  As ZH points out, how conveeeeeeen-ient that the federal government would seek to become a new, major buyer of Treasuries just as the Federal Reserve is getting out of the Treasury-supporting business via this whole tapering thing.

3)  We have 401ks, IRAs (Roth, Traditional, Rollover, and Spousal), SEPs, Keoghs, and that good ole' fashion thing known as 'individual savings' that go into everything from CDs to munis to the stock market to home equity (primary residence and rental property).  What gives Dear Leader the idea that there just ain't enough vehicles out there for people to save for retirement???  Must be thinking the same thing they did with ObamaCare: who cares if the uninsured are uninsured by choice, we'll just take control of the system and jam it on people.

4)  We know that the Obama administration has sought to develop the intellectual and policy case for commandeering private retirement savings in favor of government-provided retirement plans.  Is this a pilot program for their ultimate vision, a camel's nose in the tent??

5) Argentina.  Poland.

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