State of Minnesota may soon control your retirement savings

MN Freedom Foundation ^ | 5-8-14 | Jonathan Blake

[TurboZamboni]

Earlier this week, House and Senate conferees agreed to final language for the Women’s Economic Security Act (WESA). While most of the attention has focused on the bill’s family and sick leave provisions, one particularly bad policy provision has attracted little attention. Specifically, WESA lays the groundwork for a “state-administered retirement savings plan” for employees in the private sector. Yes, this would essentially be a government-run retirement plan controlled by the State Board of Investment. The ramifications of such a plan could be devastating for private sector employees as well as taxpayers who would likely be on the hook for future bailouts.

The bill states: “the commissioner of management and budget must report to the legislature…on the potential for a state-administered retirement savings plan”, by January 2015. The legislation includes $400,000 to study the issue. While a legislative report may seem innocuous (albeit expensive), it is anything but. This is the proverbial camel’s nose under the tent.

Earlier this session, liberal legislators and special interest groups introduced the Minnesota Secure Choice Retirement Savings Act, which was subsequently scaled back to what is now a $400,000 study. As Watchdog.org reported on that piece of legislation: “If the state gets in the business…opponents warn the livelihoods of some 140,000 Minnesotans in the finance and insurance industry would be anything but secure. They also caution that taxpayers would be on the hook for a bigger bureaucracy and potential bailout, if and when the market tanks.”

[Dead Corpse]

No. I’ll start killing Legislators if they attempt to seize my retirement assets.

Not a threat. Promise.

[nascarnation]

Seems perfectly in line with what a state with Al Franken as Senator wold embrace.