What happened to all of the doom and gloom economic threads?

there has been talk of ObamaCo.....somehow raiding or IRA and 401K's

most thought it was the imagination of Obama Haters

After Cyprus

IS IT FAR FETCHED?


I Know

Lets talk COLORECUNTS toned arms

Isn't Lying Against The Marine Code of Honor?

vetteman said:

Democrats actually have legislation drawn up that will force 401K holders to invest a certain percentage in government bonds, same thing as seizing that percentage of value from those 401ks. It will go nowhere in this House, but if Pelosi were to come back as speaker it will no doubt be on the agenda.

Click to expand...

Another day...
Another unsourced Vettefalsehood.

THE ECONOMY IS REALLY IMPROVING: More than 25 percent of Americans raiding 401(k)s to pay bills. “U.S. workers are tapping into nearly a quarter of the $293 billion placed into their retirement savings each year to pay for mortgages, credit cards and other debts, according to a report from financial advisory firm HelloWallet. Those in their 40s are the most frequent raiders, with about one-third using their 401(k)s to pay current bills.”

UPDATE: An amplification on the linked story from reader Kevin Patrick:



The mistake is at the AZ Daily Star (or in the PR that they published for HelloWallet ), not yours, but the excerpt didn’t sound right to me. “Most” Americans don’t have a 401(k), so I looked for the study online. Here’s what the study actually says in the executive summary:

“Over 25 percent of households that use a 401(k) or similar DC plan have used all or some of their savings for non-retirement needs, amounting to over $70 billion in annual withdrawals”

The study says that 40% of American households have access to a 401(k) or similar DC plan, so if 25% of those have used it for non-retirement needs, this is only 10% of American households who have done so. The study itself actually notes, “Yet, as large as those numbers are, DC plans are a marginal contributor to the actual retirement needs of U.S. workers. In fact, DC balances constitute less than 7 percent of the gross asset value owned by all households near retirement.”

You can find the study here.

Not good news certainly, but not nearly as bad as the headline seems. That’s good PR for you!

I’m not sure that it undercuts the main point, which is that people in their 40s, who should be doing reasonably well, are having to dip into retirement to make ends meet.

MEGAN MCARDLE: Sorry, Folks: One Way or the Other, You’ll Never Be Able to Completely Count on Retirement. “We’re just picking how we want to take our risk, not whether we want to take it. And if there’s one thing we should have learned from the financial crisis, it’s this: the minute we decide that we don’t have to make that choice–that we have figured out some way to get rid of the risk altogether–is generally the moment that the universe decides to give it to us, good and hard.”




GRETCHEN MORGENSON: “The financial system, thanks to dissembling traders and bumbling regulators, is at greater risk than you know.” Bottom line: “We already know that banks of JPMorgan’s size are also too big to be allowed to fail and too big to prosecute. Such banks are too big to regulate and apparently too big to manage. So how much more evidence do we need that banks like JPMorgan are simply too big a risk for taxpayers to bear?”

RobDownSouth said:

Another day...
Another unsourced Vettefalsehood.

Click to expand...

There's a seed of truth in today's Vettespin. Circa January 2010 when the recession was crushing us all, a mid-level Dept of Labor official took public comments on an idea... That government-sponsored plans such as IRAs and 401(k)s would mandate that 10% of contributions would go into a US Treasury backed annuity. The purpose of this proposal was to hedge against future extreme market collapses and assure that people would have some level of income from the annuity. They did some surveys and things and the idea didn't go anywhere past public comments.

Then WND and the rest of the RW blogosphere took the story and manipulated it into OBAMA WANTS TO TAKE YOUR 401(k) BECAUSE OTHERWISE NOBODY IS BUYING TREASURIES! The fact that treasuries were being bought up in 2010 and today just as quick as they're issued was ignored by the Vettespinners of the world. That basic and critical fact didn't fit the narrative so it had to be filtered out.

Then since WND's spin wasn't enough, Vette took it to the next level by saying Democratic legislators actually wrote up a bill forcing people to buy bonds (not annuities?), and that it's the same thing as the government seizing your money. They've just been sitting on it for 3+ years, waiting to pounce or something.

I have never had a wet dream involving my 401k account. But I do get a boner over it when awake.

vetteman said:

George Miller (D) California held hearings on 401ks in 2008. He was talking about eliminating the tax subsidy on 401ks, he was in love with the idea for a new revenue source. He called Professor Teresa Ghilarducci to testify about her plan for 401ks:

“What we want to do, we want to take your 401(k) at its August level, before the crash. We’ll give you that equivalent and put it in your Social Security account, essentially, and we’re going to invest that money that we take from your retirement account, your 401(k), at its August level. We’re going to buy government bonds with it, which will guarantee you 3% — and then we will require that you put 5% of your pay into your 401(k) although it’s not yours anymore,”

The idea is still the basis of many a wet dream on the Democrat side of the aisle and I'm sure that Miller and his leftists colleagues will no doubt breathe new life into the idea if they gain another majority in the House.

Click to expand...

it was a non started then

with Cyprus

its inevitable

Its inevitable


The End Of Systemic Trust: The Canary Just Died


Submitted by Lucas Jackson,






“When it becomes serious, you have to lie."




-Jean Claude Juncker, PM of Luxembourg, and the head of the Eurogroup council of eurozone finance ministers




May, 2011

Prior to yesterday, if you were trying to handicap how the unelected leaders of the Eurozone were going to react to a tough situation, you only had to refer to the quote above from Mr. Junker to understand their mindset.


But so long as someone at the ECB was willing to flood the world with free EURs (with significant backup provided the US Federal Reserve) the market closed its eyes, held its breath and took the leap of faith that all was well.

However, post the Cyprus decision, the curtain has been pulled back and wizard revealed with all his faults and warts. The age of innocence is dead and with it died institutional and retail trust, confidence in the system writ large and the rule of law.

It would be hard to over-emphasize how significant the Cyprus situation is. The EU demonstrated under no uncertain circumstances that they will destroy the rule of law to maintain their own power. It was a recognition of tyranny that many of us have always assumed was the case but yesterday became reality.

The damage done here is not related to the size of the haircut - currently discussed between 3 and 13% - but rather that the legal language which each and every investor on the planet must rely on in order to maintain confidence in the system has been subordinated to the needs of the powerful elite. To the power elite making the major decisions in DC, London, Berlin, France, Brussels, et. al., laws are like ice cream, easily melted.

Which begs the question, who is next? Will it be Portugal? Greece? Spain? Italy? France???

Will they impose a “one-time” tax on your bank account? Your house? Your stocks and bonds? Retirement accounts?

The major banks of Europe are levered beyond anyone’s wild guess. They cannot afford a hit to their capital base lest they be exposed for the over-levered giants they are. This, of course, opens up the exposure all of these banks have to the greater than $1tr derivatives market where the failure of any one of these derivative banks could lead to the collapse of them all.

So, of course, the powers that be in Europe must do everything in their power to prevent the world from noticing that their banks are broke. This means they will lie and take anything they deem necessary. Including the forceful seizure of savings accounts of innocent people.

The Government Is Your Friend?

Markets have been rallying for years on the back of the idea that government’s are going “all-in” to save the current economic system. To many of the talking heads on the business channels, we are supposed to view this as a good thing.

This has produced all kinds of non-market based solutions such as the bailout of the major US banks and their subsequent TBTF moniker, the “bailout” (I use the term loosely because this was really a political stunt) of GM and a never-ending stream of free money being handed out by the major central banks.

The markets have seemed to like this ham-handed involvement and have rallied to all-time highs.

But all along the way there have been those of us who have said that there will eventually be a price pay. With the Cyprus decision, investors now know what the price is: your money is not really your money. Your bank account is not really your bank account. Your bonds, stocks, home and anything else you think you own isn’t really yours. The governments of the world will take it from you whenever things get bad enough.

Look at China. Do you think if the global economy ever shrinks far enough that the Chinese will allow all those American companies to keep their assets on Chinese soil? How likely is it that the Chinese will suffer through their own problems of inflation and social instability and yet allow Apple, GE, GM and the rest to keep benefiting?

Think about global mining and oil stocks? Most own assets in countries other than the home domicile of the company. If the prices of precious metals and/or oil ever meaningfully breaks out, do you think the poor governments that originally granted the mining/drilling concessions will simply respect the rule of law and allow these multi-national corporations to keep sending their country’s wealth abroad? Not likely.

How about in the US? Could the US declare a bank holiday and unilaterally devalue the currency in one swift move? I will get over 9,000 responses saying this could never happen in the good ol’ US of A but of course it could. In fact it has already been done before during FDR’s first 100 days in office. The template already exists. Electronic banking only makes the process that much easier.

Technically, since the Fed has been running a policy of monetary inflation since about 1920, the government here already has been quietly taxing the savings accounts of its citizens without their permission for decades. The subtle difference between what Europe is doing in Cyprus and what the Fed does every day to American citizens is that the Cyprus theft is happening in one discrete event while the Fed’s theft drips in slowly over years.

But no matter which way you look at the situation, expect things to deteriorate from here.




Lehman Part Deux


What could be next?

Bank runs will continue apace where they are already going and will begin in countries previously seen as impervious to such events such as France, Germany and even Switzerland.

The difference in pricing between the paper and physical precious metals markets will rise. Good luck to those of you owning paper gold and thinking this will help you when things get bad. The legal language on your piece of paper is worthless. If savings accounts aren’t sacrosanct, then neither is that ETF.

Did you or your firm stash a bunch of money off-shore in some tax-friendly haven that probably has a favorable relationship to the British Crown? Best of luck with that. Tax havens are nothing more than legal arbitrages. With the value of law moving to zero, the value of your account approaches the same.

Trade wars will begin to rear their ugly heads as the losers in the currency wars retreat to their last line of defense. Once you tear up the rule of law, trade agreements quickly get thrown by the wayside once your domestic situation deteriorates enough.

Moar and moar government micro-management of individual economies, markets, sectors and companies. The Amateur Barack Obama and his minions will continue the tradition started by George II of abandoning free market principals to ostensibly save the free market. Once they are done there will be little left of the market and none of us will be free

vetteman said:

George Miller (D) California held hearings on 401ks in 2008. He was talking about eliminating the tax subsidy on 401ks, he was in love with the idea for a new revenue source. He called Professor Teresa Ghilarducci to testify about her plan for 401ks:

“What we want to do, we want to take your 401(k) at its August level, before the crash. We’ll give you that equivalent and put it in your Social Security account, essentially, and we’re going to invest that money that we take from your retirement account, your 401(k), at its August level. We’re going to buy government bonds with it, which will guarantee you 3% — and then we will require that you put 5% of your pay into your 401(k) although it’s not yours anymore,”

The idea is still the basis of many a wet dream on the Democrat side of the aisle and I'm sure that Miller and his leftists colleagues will no doubt breathe new life into the idea if they gain another majority in the House.

Click to expand...

Debunking the "Democrats want to seize your 401(k)" lies

Once again, the Vettebigot brings dishonor on himself, his family, and the United States Marine Corps by promoting this falsehood.

RobDownSouth said:

Debunking the "Democrats want to seize your 401(k)" lies

Once again, the Vettebigot brings dishonor on himself, his family, and the United States Marine Corps by promoting this falsehood.

Click to expand...

factcheck is biased


and IT WILL HAPPEN

vetteman said:

FactCheck is a liberal propaganda repair site. RubDownSow doesn't have enough imagination to understand his own kind.

Click to expand...

Yeah yeah, blah blah blah.

Take your beatdown like the man your father wanted...not the sissy your momma raised.

Democrats Save Food Stamps For Illegal Immigrants Program From Sequester Cuts…




Priorities.

Via Fox News:


Salmonella outbreaks. E. coli outbreaks. Millions of dollars in economic losses.

These are among the scenarios the Obama administration warned about last month as it claimed the sequester would force the U.S. Department of Agriculture to furlough meat inspectors.

But while the administration prepares to take that step, it continues to pursue a “partnership” with the Mexican government to “raise awareness” about food stamps among immigrants from that country. When a top Senate Republican proposed cutting off funds for that program last week — in the form of an amendment to a budget resolution — Democrats on the Budget Committee shot it down.

It’s hard to put a firm price on the cost of the partnership, which was launched under the George W. Bush administration. But an aide to Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., who has railed against the partnership for months, said it could easily be in the millions. Since 2004, the program has blossomed to include dozens of meetings and conferences and health fairs with Mexican officials — all of which cost money, not to mention the cost to the food stamp program of new enrollees brought in as a result of this partnership.

vetteman said:

FactCheck is a liberal propaganda repair site. RubDownSow doesn't have enough imagination to understand his own kind.

Click to expand...

He's one of kind. there is no one else in his weight class.

When are they going to privatize our Social Security accounts? That was supposed to happen by 2008.

Reporter To White House: Is Obama Planning To Cut Back On Lavish Vacations – White House: No.




Obviously.


Local reporter asks White House with unemployment rates still high and families having to cut back on budgets, how does President Obama justify his taxpayer-funded vacations and does he plan on cutting back his vacations? (March 18, 2013).

vetteman said:

George Miller (D) California held hearings on 401ks in 2008. He was talking about eliminating the tax subsidy on 401ks, he was in love with the idea for a new revenue source. He called Professor Teresa Ghilarducci to testify about her plan for 401ks:

“What we want to do, we want to take your 401(k) at its August level, before the crash. We’ll give you that equivalent and put it in your Social Security account, essentially, and we’re going to invest that money that we take from your retirement account, your 401(k), at its August level. We’re going to buy government bonds with it, which will guarantee you 3% — and then we will require that you put 5% of your pay into your 401(k) although it’s not yours anymore,”

The idea is still the basis of many a wet dream on the Democrat side of the aisle and I'm sure that Miller and his leftists colleagues will no doubt breathe new life into the idea if they gain another majority in the House.

Click to expand...

So what you really meant to say was that almost five years ago one small-time Democratic congressman hosted a person who had an idea which the Dems did nothing with. Then Obama was elected and the Dems had control of the House and a Senate super-majority and they still did nothing with the idea.

But now you need to worry about the idea going somewhere.

vetteman said:

FactCheck is a liberal propaganda repair site. RubDownSow doesn't have enough imagination to understand his own kind.

Click to expand...

Patriots made it known in 2009 that they would not be beholden to things like facts or fact checkers. And if the fact checker backs their check with facts, well that's even more reason to discredit them. Facts have a liberal bias.

FactCheck.org which is a product of conservative Lee Annenberg? Well that's a reliable source to argue against something liberal but gets immediately discredited whenever a righty is busted. Then re-credited as needed.

FACT CHECK is not reliable


Further

that is what is known as a trial balloon

why doesn't COLORED CUNT and WhoSane stop spending so much?




Last Friday, White House press secretary Jay Carney lashed out at a Fox News anchor for asking whether the White House’s annual Easter Egg Roll might go the way of its cancelled tours. Carney told Jenna Lee that the event wasn’t at risk: “Well actually, Jenna, again, if you did a little reporting . . . it’s paid for by the sale of those eggs that come out, as well as from donations on the outside, so it’s a totally different budget. These are apples and oranges.”

But now the White House is warning that this year’s egg roll may be nixed by the sequester as well.

According to Politico, Capitol Hill offices received an e-mail today with tickets to the event that mentioned it could be cancelled “due to funding uncertainty surrounding the Executive Office of the President and other federal agencies.” If the egg roll is cancelled, the message explained, it would not be rescheduled. (The event was also set to be the backdrop for First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign.)

mercury14 said:

FactCheck.org which is a product of conservative Lee Annenberg? Well that's a reliable source to argue against something liberal but gets immediately discredited whenever a righty is busted. Then re-credited as needed.

Click to expand...

Fucking ASSHOLE NIGGER, have you no fucking shame?

YOU FUCKING LIE ALL THE TIME


The Annenberg Foundation was originally founded by Walter J. Annenberg, a conservative who supported Ronald Reagan. However, when Walter Annenberg died, his family took over the management of the foundation and it took a turn to the far left and has ties to radical left individuals such as Bill Ayers and his friend and fellow left wing radical collegue Barack Obama. How is factcheck.org associated with these people:



To start, Ayers was the key founder of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, which was a Chicago public school reform project from 1995 to 2001. Upon its start in 1995, Obama was appointed Board Chairman and President of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. Geesh, that alone connects all three. Well, it branches out even more from there.

Ayers co-chaired the organization’s Collaborative, which set the education policies of the Challenge. Oddly enough, Obama was the one who was authorized to delegate to the Collaborative in regards to its programs and projects. In addition to that, Obama often times had to seek advice and assistance from the Ayer’s led Collaborative in regards to the programmatic aspects of grant proposals. Ayers even sat on the same board as Obama as an “ex officio member”. They both also sat together on the board of the CAC’s Governance Committee. Obama and Ayers were two parts of a group of four who were instructed to draft the bylaws that would govern the CAC. Keep in mind that the “A” in CAC is for Annenberg, the owners of FactCheck.org. The funding for Ayer’s projects and those of his cronies was approved by Board Chair, Barack Obama. The Annenberg Foundation was originally founded by Walter J. Annenberg, a conservative who supported Ronald Reagan. However, when Walter Annenberg died, his family took over the management of the foundation and it took a turn to the far left and has ties to radical left individuals such as Bill Ayers and his friend and fellow left wing radical collegue Barack Obama. How is factcheck.org associated with these people: