Free Republic

Monday, 10 November 2008 06:32 "Democrats in the U.S. House have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workers’ personal retirement accounts — including 401(k)s and IRAs — and convert them to accounts managed by the Social Security Administration." That was the lead sentence in an article entitled, "Dems Target Private Retirement Accounts," published in the Carolina Journal on November 4th. With those alarming openers, the article has gone viral over the last week — at least among those who advocate less government interference in their economic lives. Unfortunately, the Carolina Journal is only telling half of the story —...

The rise and fall of the 401(k)Mike Ivey — 11/12/2008 5:36 am **SNIP** The State of Wisconsin Investment Board, for example, manages the retirement funds of more than 550,000 current and former government workers in the state. It is widely respected as one of the best public pension funds in the nation. In Wisconsin, monthly pension payouts to retirees are calculated based on five years of market returns, which helps to smooth out the inevitable ups and downs of Wall Street. Even with the unprecedented stock market decline of 2008, participants in the Wisconsin retirement system are likely only looking...

On paper, my wife and I are poor. How poor? In 2005 we made $4,303.84 combined; in 2004 we made half that. We’re in such a low tax bracket that I have trouble convincing the government of our tax return’s accuracy; they simply can’t believe Americans can live on that kind of money. Yet in many ways, we’re better off than a Wall Street banker: We’ve saved enough money to buy land without a mortgage, we have no credit cards or monthly bills, I work 20 flexible hours a week from home, and my daughter has two stay-at-home parents. Simply...

401(k) early casualty of downturnRecession would jeopardize match made by employers DAVID PITT Associated Press Published: November 9, 2008 6:00 a.m. DES MOINES, Iowa – Retirement accounts already battered by a steep market decline might get hit again as several companies suspend or reduce their 401(k) match to save cash. **SNIP** Matching contributions average about 11 percent of a company’s profits, according to a recent survey of more than 1,000 companies by the Profit Sharing/401k Council of America. **SNIP** “This is a recession-type of response. These employers are really up against it and they have to decide to cut somewhere...

As the implications of this election have sunk in and the future has, in so many ways, become so uncertain,many have suggested ways to fight back. One, an initial reaction to the confiscatory tax policies of the new regime, was to scale back where possible.Rush Limbaugh even mentioned that he was selling a long held and cherished condo in New York in response to their impending tax hikes. But there has been no organized approach to this "tightening of our conservative belts". I propose a new freep, call it "Operation Thrift".Operation Thrift will have several goals, first and foremost is...

Obama's retirement plan proposalsRetirees and workers with 401(k) savings may see changes. By DAVID PITT Associated Press Writer November 09. 2008 6:59AM The election is over and the message is clear — the economy is priority one. The big question now is how some of President-elect Barack Obama's campaign proposals will affect retirees and workers with 401(k) and other retirement accounts. Looking at them a bit closer may reveal some clues. What are some of the ideas Obama has proposed that could impact my retirement planning? One issue Obama has endorsed may get serious consideration before he takes the oath...

A wide range of sweeping changes to the 401(k) system were proposed Tuesday at a hearing on how the market crisis has devastated retirement savings plans. Chief among them was eliminating $80 billion in tax savings for higher-income people enrolled in 401(k) retirement savings plans. This was suggested by the chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor. “With respect to the 401(k), it appears to be a plan that is not really well-devised for the changes in the market,” Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., said.

Stocks face longer bear market as more tap nest eggs Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:46pm EDT By Jennifer Ablan - Analysis NEW YORK (Reuters) - Major U.S. stock indexes, already trapped in bear territory, face a tougher road to recovery, as more Americans crack into their nest eggs to withdraw cash to cope with rising economic pressures. The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500, which have fallen 20 percent or more from their closing highs of last October, qualifying them as bear markets, have taken big hits from the drastic slowdown in housing and credit as...

Series I Savings Bonds To Earn 4.84%, Series EE To Earn 1.40% Fixed Rate, When Bought From May Through October 2008 FOR RELEASE AT 10:00 AM May 1, 2008 The Bureau of the Public Debt today announced an earnings rate of 4.84% for Series I Savings Bonds, and a fixed rate of 1.40% for Series EE bonds, issued from May through October 2008. Earnings rates for I bonds and fixed rates for EE bonds are set each May 1 and November 1. Interest accrues monthly and compounds semiannually. Bonds held less than five years are subject to a three-month interest...

There's an old saying that the best time to fix a roof is when the sun is shining. Well, the storm clouds are on the horizon and time's a-wasting. At least, that's the case according to the findings of the 18th annual Retirement Confidence Survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. U.S. workers and retirees are losing confidence in their ability to afford a comfortable retirement -- and with good reason. Health-care costs are rising, home values are dropping, and savings are modest, according to the report. In fact, fewer than one-in-five workers (18% to be exact) are very confident...

Mr Prasad had saved up for his old age (Pictures: Prashant Ravi) A trader in the Indian state of Bihar has lost his life savings after termites infesting his bank's safe deposit boxes ate them up.Dwarika Prasad had deposited currency notes and investment papers worth hundreds of thousands of rupees in a bank safe in the state capital Patna. The bank says it put up a notice warning customers of the termites. Mr Prasad says he did not see it in time as he did not go to the bank for months after the notice went up. Bank officials...

Lisa Keister has scanned the Bible and found nearly 2,000 verses in the New Testament that touch on the topic of money. It's those very verses that may be keeping many conservative Protestants from building up long-term wealth, she says. Jesus warned his followers not to "store up for yourselves treasures on Earth," and later cautioned that it will be "hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven." Perhaps the best known is the admonition that "the love of money is the root of all evil." According to data analyzed by Keister, a Duke University sociologist, the...

Officials Question Value Of Daylight Savings TimeReport Says Changing The Clock Doesn't Save Energy UPDATED: 1:44 pm MST March 8, 2008 FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- It not only costs most people an hour of sleep, now officials and researchers are questioning the value of daylight savings time. Daylight savings time starts on Sunday at 2 a.m. Remember to set your clocks one hour ahead tonight. The concept was first put forward by Benjamin Franklin, as a satire, during a visit to Paris. He wrote that fewer candles would be used if people got up earlier and went to bed earlier....

The German government's purchase of data stolen from a Liechtenstein bank has reinvigorated longstanding debates about privacy, law enforcement and international relations. Much of the fallout has followed predictable patterns. Some argue that Germany's richest citizens should be brought to justice for failing to comply with the tax laws, while others point out that it is unseemly for a nation to spy on a peaceful neighbor. The conflict between Germany and Liechtenstein also has triggered a broader debate about tax competition and the role of so-called tax havens. The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is trying to use...

On February 10th The Devils Advocate Jr. came into the world as a healthy 9lb baby boy, the first child of his proud parents. He has been fortunate enough to have received a few hundred dollars in gifts from his friends and relatives. Now I'm wondering what is the best option for investing his little nest egg to provide the best return in about 18 years. Certainly there's something out there better than a savings account.

The title is an obvious and intentional exaggeration used by Ken Fisher in his book titled Three Questions That Count. Rather than try to summarize and comment on his excellent book I choose to examine those parts that have a public policy connotation. The first of these is the so called “savings rate.” The author points out this is a residual calculation not an actual measure of savings. What the government does take personal income and subtract from it personal consumption. Personal income is after tax income. Again, no one actually measures savings. There are problems with doing this and...

The phrase has long since entered the political lexicon, but it was former House Speaker and Massachusetts Representative Tip O'Neill who first christened Social Security the "third rail of American politics." The reasoning behind his snide dubbing is twofold: the high political mortality rate of those who suggest change to the program, and avoidance of the issue by even Washington's most forthcoming public officials. During the Oct. 9 GOP debate, presidential candidate Fred Thompson threw conventional wisdom to the wind and grabbed the rail. Hard. Thompson called Social Security's current trajectory "unsustainable" and proposed reducing the benefits of recipients to...

Given the options below, what would you recommend to help Americans save for retirement? (related article) Establish more government-run programs to encourage savings Focus on fixing Social Security Allow individuals to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes on their own Eliminate Social Security taxes altogether so individuals can invest that money

"The unifying principle of the Republican Party is that we should tax our citizens less, and as a result have a smaller government. I embrace that principle and have made tax relief one of the cornerstones of my presidential campaign. "Central to my pro-growth economic agenda is a belief that middle-class Americans should not be taxed as they save and invest for the future. We need a middle-class savings plan to provide critical tax relief to American families. We must cut taxes and make more Americans part of the investor class. I have proposed changing the rate of taxation on...

The new numbers on consumer confidence are out. They show American consumers very confident that the economy is going down the tubes. Over in Asia and Europe, stocks plunged on fears that Americans may no longer be able to find the second jobs and recklessly borrow the money needed to buy imported stuff. Economists now freely use the "recession" word following the report that American payrolls fell in August, the first monthly decline in four years. American consumers, in other words, are all dried up. And the discussion has begun on what kind of baloney economy kept them lubricated for...