Wednesday, February 10, 2010

GUARD YOUR WALLET!

The Politicians Want Your Money

As recently as Jan 25, 2010 the Obama Administration proposed Mandatory Retirement Plans. This is the first step towards nationalization and the forced investment of your retirement benefits. Though you may have heard little about these mandatory plans, they will force you to invest in government controlled retirement accounts to support the treasury debt market. As reported in BusinessWeek, these plans will draw opposition.

Why should you be concerned about the Mandatory IRA? By taking control of your retirement plan assets, the government is in essence confiscating your hard earned savings! Your retirement savings could be used to fulfill U.S. Treasury obligations. Unless you believe that Washington Politicians can manage your assets better than you, then now is the time to take control and protect your assets.

While government was meant to protect our nation, think of them as a parasite that feeds off of the people. This is the best description that I can give to describe their thirst for our tax dollars. Like a blood sucking mosquito, they pierce the skin almost unnoticed and then drain the life from us to support themselves.


Cleverly disguised as plans to help Americans save, these forced retirement plans will cause havoc on business and thrust our country into a financial meltdown. From hyperinflation to tax increases to tyranny, the risks involved are HUGE!

This is not an attempt to scare you. It is a fair warning from a concerned citizen. My intentions are to create awareness and motivate you to take action towards taking control of your personal assets. As a financial consultant it is my job and responsibility. I fear the control of U.S. retirement plans will ultimately lead to the confiscation of trillions of dollars in privately held assets.

More Warnings

On January 8, 2010, CNBC’s Rick Santelli, blew the horn about the possible nationalization and forced investment into treasuries. Bloomberg reported that the proposed plan may not be able to support itself. And on January 26, 2010, Fox Business News reported that the National Small Business Association (NSBA) stated that they are “opposed to any mandates that create a new and significant burden on small business.”

As far back as 1981, Ron Paul warned that language had been inserted into the 1981 Economic Recovery Act, Section 314(b) that ruled “collectibles” as not in the “public interest” and therefore prohibited from future retirement plan investments.

Hypocrisy At Its Finest

When our government takes billions in taxpayer money to “bailout” financial institutions like Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, are you not the least bit suspicious? And, when these same institutions advertise that you should invest with them, though they are technically bankrupt, does something seem wrong? They pay themselves outrageous bonuses, yet your account balances have lost billions.

Now that health care reform has been placed on the back burner, Washington Politicians have now focused their attention on more economic stimulus plans supposedly to boost employment. When will Americans learn that government cannot create jobs? Any so-called job creation by the government is only at the expense of private business. The net result is a loss of jobs as workers are pulled from one industry to another and businesses are forced to close.

How Mandatory Retirement Plans Will Work

You will be forced into another scheme, similar to Social Security, consisting of what is now being called a Guaranteed Retirement Account/Annuity (GRA). These plans will be funded by a proposed 5% of your salary. Eventually your existing retirement funds will be pushed into the government program. All of the details will be worked out along the way.

Currently, over $15 Trillion is invested in qualified retirement plans. Retirement savings make up more than 35% of all private assets and Congress has their eyes on this money. When you retire, taxes must be paid on withdrawals from these accounts. Politicians would like nothing more than to have access to these accounts now.

Teresa Ghilarducci is the author of the “Agenda for Shared Prosperity”. She became the Director of the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy at the New School for Social Research. Her plan is to confiscate the assets of the wealthiest Americans and redistribute them through government plans.

As outlined in the proposal, the government will make a contribution into every citizen’s account of approximately $600 annually, covering the unemployed and underemployed. The 5% contribution by “successful” Americans will go into a “guaranteed account” managed by the government, the same people managing Social Security.

The concern is that following the implementation of the GRA program, Congress would create future legislation to end tax deductions and tax benefits of all retirement plans therefore forcing the funds in these plans into the “professionally” managed GRA program. The other concern is that beneficiaries would be cheated out of any benefits left in IRA’s after the death of the participants. Ghilarducci’s plan calls for 50% of all balances remaining at death to be reverted to the federal government, not the beneficiaries.

What to Do

Since this is only a proposal at the time, it could be years before these changes take effect. However, since Congress already controls the rules for private retirement plans they can change the rules, just as they’ve done in the past. The good news is, you have time to protect your assets before this assault. But, don’t wait. Why would you put another dime into a qualified plan? Take an honest inventory of your assets and sit down to talk with your advisor soon. It’s your money, guard your wallet!

Barry Page, RFC is a Registered Financial Consultant and Licensed Insurance Agent. He is an advocate for families and small business, and publishes this blog and www.legacyinsuranceagency.com to promote financial intelligence.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Americans Reject Keynesian Economics

What is it that politician's don't understand? They seem to think that "we", the taxpayers that pay their salary, don't have a say in government. Well, it's become abundantly clear that American's are fed up with overspending.

In case you aren't familiar with Keynesian Economics, created by John Maynard Keynes, the premise is basically "spend more" and "grow government" to improve the economy. On the contrary, at the time of Keynes, there was also Andrew Jackson's philosophy of Laissez Faire Economics which complemented the Constitution and promoted smaller government.

Another popular economic theory is Austrian Economics, made popular by economist Ludwig von Mises, which focuses on free enterprise. Former U.S. Presidential Candidate, Ron Paul, also embraces Austrian Economics. Paul compares Keynesian Economics and Austrian Economics

More and more American's are waking up to the abuse of power by politicians, and they are speaking up. TEA Parties and the 9/12 Project have helped everyday people to get involved and the movements are gaining popularity.

This report displays the distrust that Americans are feeling towards BIG Government:
Americans Reject Keynesian Economics

Stand Up for Your Rights!
Barry Page, RFC

Barry Page is a Registered Financial Consultant that studies economics and its' impact on families and business. He is an advocate of free enterprise and teaches families how to control their finances and think independently. He publishes www.legacyinsuranceagency.com and this blog to promote financial intelligence.

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