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  1. #1
    Super Moderator Newmexican's Avatar
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    Lame Duck Session plan to seize 401k's for union bailout

    New Lame Duck Threat to Bailout Union Pensions
    by Connie Hair

    10/08/2010

    Democrats in the Senate on Thursday held a recess hearing covering a taxpayer bailout of union pensions and a plan to seize private 401(k) plans to more "fairly" distribute taxpayer-funded pensions to everyone.

    Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee heard from hand-picked witnesses advocating the infamous "Guaranteed Retirement Account" (GRA) authored by Theresa Guilarducci.

    (You can find the blistering interview with Guilarducci by radio talk show host Mark Levin in 2007 at the link).

    In a nutshell, under the GRA system government would seize private 401(k) accounts, setting up an additional 5% mandatory payroll tax to dole out a "fair" pension to everyone using that confiscated money coupled with the mandated contributions. This would, of course, be a sister government ponzi scheme working in tandem with Social Security, the primary purpose being to give big government politicians additional taxpayer funds to raid to pay for their out-of-control spending.

    From written hearing testimony submitted by Economic Policy Institute (EPI) Vice President Ross Eisenbrey:

    “We need a comprehensive solution that addresses interrelated problems. For example, a system that places most of the burden for retirement saving on individuals will always have to wrestle with the problem of pre-retirement loans and withdrawals (simply plugging these leaks will not work, because many workers would stop contributing to the system). A system that relies on tax incentives to promote individual retirement savings will necessarily tend to favor high-income workers who can afford to save more and who benefit the most from these tax breaks. Conversely, a truly universal system would need to shield low-income workers from out-of-pocket costs or wage cuts. EPI has published and advocated what we feel would be an excellent national supplemental retirement plan, the Guaranteed Retirement Account which was authored by Prof. Teresa Ghilarducci, Director of the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at the New School for Social Research. "

    The EPI is housed on the third floor of the building occupied by the George Soros-funded Center for American Progress, a hard-core leftist group whose flavor of socialist policy has brought you the current blend of elitist socialism and crony capitalism bankrupting the American economy. Which speaks volumes about EPI and the Democrat leadership's choice of witness.

    Brett McMahon, spokesman for the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), a trade association, warns this hearing exposed part of a process that may come as early as the November lame duck push to bailout union pensions by attaching the bailout to an across-the-board extension of the current tax rates.

    "I am deeply concerned that they will try to attach something like the Casey bill or the Casey bill in and of itself to tax cut extensions bill that is inevitably going to have to be dealt with at some point during the lame duck session," McMahon told HUMAN EVENTS.

    As reported in HUMAN EVENTS the Casey bill from Sen. Bob Casey (D-Penn.) is a new entitlement program that would set up a permanent bailout of the union multi-employer pension plans that are desperately underwater through a new "fifth fund" at the government Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Casey’s bill would create a line item on the federal budget through the PBGC to fund these union pension bailouts annually -- union pensions that are underwater as a result of mismanagement that pre-dates the 2008 financial upheaval.

    Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was the only other senator at the hearing with Harkin. His particular brand of gutter class warfare was on full display as the self-described socialist made the absurd claim that wealthy job creators oppose the Social Security system because it "works."

    "So, the reason that there is so much opposition to Social Security for some of these billionaire guys is because Social Security has worked. It has done exactly what it was supposed to do. It has worked for the elderly, for the disabled, for widows and orphans," Sanders said in his opening remarks.

    In typical leftist drive-by fashion, Sanders never explained why he believes successful people don't like the elderly, disabled, widows or orphans.

    And, of course, the theme of the day was "fairness" as it's somehow "fair" to take what one person has earned in the free market and give it to another in a government-run wealth redistribution retirement scheme.

    Shareen Miller, a personal care assistant and a member of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local Number 5 in Falls Church, Virginia, offered testimony about the need for wealth redistribution to fund her pension.

    "I make $12 an hour and receive no healthcare benefits, retirement benefits, sick time or vacation," the SEIU union member said.

    Which begs the question: why is she paying union dues? Not exactly a sterling recommendation for SEIU membership.

    Miller went on to say that the physical demands of her job giving care to a cerebral palsy patient are becoming more difficult. But Miller has been aware of these conditions for at least two years.

    In 2008, Miller spent a day with then Virginia Senate candidate Mark Warner in an SEIU "Walk a day in the shoes" for Democrat candidates. Common sense would dictate Miller's individual responsibility for moving out of this particular line of work, leaving the physically demanding jobs to younger folks entering the work force. Perhaps Miller could demand fair payment for shilling for Democrats.

    But the physical demands and hazardous jobs claims are not new from those demanding taxpayers fund a "fair" pension for everyone. This scheme is at the heart of the collapse of European socialism.

    From Michael Lewis in Vanity Fair magazine:

    "The retirement age for Greek jobs classified as 'arduous' is as early as 55 for men and 50 for women. As this is also the moment when the state begins to shovel out generous pensions, more than 600 Greek professions somehow managed to get themselves classified as arduous: hairdressers, radio announcers, waiters, musicians, and on and on and on."

    Overall McMahon said the pressing issue for the lame duck is the union pension bailout with new Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) rules currently set to take effect December 15. These new rules would force companies to account for the cost of penalties to extract themselves from these union pension plans against their bottom line. (Full report from HUMAN EVENTS here.)

    "The pension bailouts are something they need desperately and they need quickly because as everyone involved with the forthcoming new FASB rule acknowledges, you cannot stop the accounting board from a new transparency requirement," McMahon said. "It's going to hurt."

    One of the largest of these multiemployer funds, Central States Funds, is in such bad shape that UPS paid a $6.1 billion penalty to extricate itself from employee participation in the fund. It is that type of penalty that would now be on the books, and it could be more than the company's overall value.

    McMahon notes non-union companies without the multiemployer union plans have been operating under these types of transparency rules all along. And the participating companies have had decades to address the issue of the pension underfunding but have not done so.

    Now companies and unions alike are looking for a taxpayer bailout in the lame duck session that could garner enough support from both sides of the aisle blanketed in the tax cut extension.

    The lame duck session would offer the last chance for unions and companies to be able to place liability for their underwater pensions on the taxpayers' backs before the new FASB rule goes into effect.



    http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=39336
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  2. #2
    Super Moderator Newmexican's Avatar
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    Pension Fund Mismanagement Highlights SEIU Corruption
    Wed, 07/16/2008 - 14:54 — Will Collins
    Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal had a great editorial up on the hypocrisy of SEIU leadership. Andy Stern and his cronies are more intent than ever on blackmailing unwilling companies into forcing SEIU "representation" on their employees through a series of vicious corporate campaigns:

    SEIU President Andy Stern is the drama king of Big Labor, and Thursday's publicity blitz will feature all of his signature choreography: Rallies in 18 states and even overseas, in which thousands of union activists will march against companies and politicians they don't like. Themes include "Buyout Monsters On the Loose" and "The War on Greed." To listen to Mr. Stern, this is about getting Congress to close tax "loopholes" for private equity firms, while funding national health care and "middle class" tax cuts.

    That's a sideshow. The real targets are private equity firms such as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Carlyle Group, which own companies that have resisted SEIU attempts to organize their workers. Mr. Stern wants to pound these firms with bad publicity and political retribution until they break.


    What's worse, it turns out that the SEIU's activism is apparently being funded illegally. Just today, Foundation president Mark Mix requested a Department of Justice investigation into new SEIU directives allowing Andy Stern to impose financial penalties on any local affiliate that doesn't meet mandatory political fundraising targets. Not only that, but local unions may be forced to pay the SEIU's fines with money collected from nonmember employees' compulsory agency fees. We hope that the DoJ and the Department of Labor will move quickly to investigate this apparent criminal activity (the Foundation's press release is available here).

    Given the SEIU's checkered past, these new developments aren't particularly surprising. But aggressive union activism does have a cost. Devoting untold sums of money to intimidating employers evidently comes at the expense of the union's so-called "representation":

    Mr. Stern's "middle class" spin would be more believable if the SEIU did more for its own members, especially their pensions. Public records based on the SEIU's own filings show that the SEIU National Industry Pension plan – which covers some 101,000 workers – was only 75% funded in 2006. Put another way, the plan had only three-fourths of the money it needs to meet its retirement obligations. And the national chapter is only the start. Some 13 local SEIU pension plans in 2006 were less than 80% funded; several didn't reach 65%.

    Some of this might be the result of poor investment performance, but the main problem is that the SEIU hasn't negotiated adequate employer contributions to the plans.

    The SEIU's top brass, on the other hand, is guaranteed generous compensation funded by employees' mandatory dues-payments. Too bad the workers they're supposed to be representing don't receive similar benefits:

    On the other hand, SEIU leaders are highly attentive to their own pension funding. A separate fund run by the national union, this one covering the benefits of SEIU officers, was 103% funded in 2006. The top SEIU guns are set for their golden years.
    Read the whole sordid tale here.

    http://www.nrtw.org/en/blog/pension-fun ... -071720081
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  3. #3
    working4change
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    hareen Miller, a personal care assistant and a member of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local Number 5 in Falls Church, Virginia, offered testimony about the need for wealth redistribution to fund her pension.

  4. #4
    Super Moderator Newmexican's Avatar
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    EBSA News

    Release Date: August 26, 2010
    Release Number: 09-1234-NAT
    Contact Name: Gloria Della
    Phone Number: 202.693.8664
    Email: Della.Gloria@dol.gov

    U.S. Department of Labor publishes agenda for September 14-15 joint hearing on lifetime income options for retirement plans

    Washington — Today the U. S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released the agenda for the upcoming joint hearing with the Department of the Treasury on lifetime income options for retirement plans. Accompanying the agenda are copies of the witnesses’ requests to testify and testimony outlines. The hearing begins at 9:00 a.m. (EST) on September 14 and 15, 2010. The hearing will be held in the Labor Department’s main auditorium, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW in Washington, D.C.

    A live webcast of the hearing will be available on EBSA’s Web site at www.dol.gov/ebsa.

    The agenda and requests to testify are available on EBSA’s Web site at www.dol.gov/ebsa. Individuals planning to attend the hearing should provide contact information by email to e-ORI@dol.gov and arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the hearing to expedite entrance into the building.

    U.S. Department of Labor news releases are accessible on the Department's Newsroom page. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at 202.693.7828 or TTY 202.693.7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America's employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit the Department's Compliance Assistance page.

    http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/2010/ebsa082610.html
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  5. #5
    Super Moderator Newmexican's Avatar
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    Government Prepares To Seize Private Pensions

    Massive wealth confiscation program would replace 401(k) system with Social Security-run ponzi scheme
    Paul Joseph Watson
    Prison Planet.com
    Tuesday, October 12, 2010

    The government is preparing to seize the private 401(k) pensions of millions of Americans while enforcing an additional 5 per cent payroll tax as part of a new bailout program that will empower the Social Security Administration to redistribute pension funds in a frightening example of big government gone wild.

    Public pension plans have been so aggressively looted already by the government that cities and counties face a $574 billion funding gap, according to a CNBC report.

    That black hole is set to be filled by a new proposal that will “fairlyâ€
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  6. #6
    working4change
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    FYI petition to stop the seizure of 401Ks

    http://www.independentlivingnews.com/se ... ion_101013


    Posted by Larry Doyle on January 11, 2010 12:05 PM | ShareThis

    An individual whom I highly respect submitted this commentary and requested I publish it. Given the respect I have for him, the depth of his perspectives, and the serious nature of this topic, I am happy to provide an outlet via Sense on Cents for his thoughtful analysis and projections. This commentary and the implications as outlined should give us all reason to pause and think.

    LD

    Blueprint for Government Takeover of IRAs by Comrade Joe

    This blueprint is imaginary; the references are factual. Let’s connect the dots:

    1. Learn from Argentina (Oct 200:
    Argentina’s Property Grab – A cautionary tale for anyone who owns a retirement account. – Argentine President Cristina Kirchner announced this week that her government intends to nationalize the country’s private pension system. If Congress approves this property grab, $30 billion in individually held retirement accounts — think 401(k)s — managed by private pension funds will become government property. - Wall Street Journal 10/23/2008

    2. Study Professor Teresa Ghilarducci’s Paper (Oct 2009):
    Democratic leaders in the U.S. House discuss confiscating 401(k)s, IRAs – … The testimony of Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, in hearings Oct. 7 drew the most attention and criticism. Testifying for the House Committee on Education and Labor, Ghilarducci proposed that the government eliminate tax breaks for 401(k) and similar retirement accounts, such as IRAs, and confiscate workers’ retirement plan accounts and convert them to universal Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRAs) managed by the Social Security Administration. – Carolina Journal Online

    Read Ghilarducci’s paper: Guaranteed Retirement Accounts – Toward retirement income security – Economic Policy Insitiute

    3. Have government propose legislation to allow conversion of 401(k) and IRAs into annuities. (Jan 2010):
    Retiree Annuities May Be Pushed by Obama After Market Losses - By Theo Francis – The Obama administration is weighing how the government can encourage workers to turn their savings into guaranteed income streams following a collapse in retiree accounts when the stock market plunged. The U.S. Treasury and Labor Departments will ask for public comment as soon as next week on ways to promote the conversion of 401(k) savings and Individual Retirement Accounts into annuities or other steady payment streams. – Bloomberg

    4. After the next market crash, with populace roused, have legislative leaders decry the greedy and obscenely profitable private sector insurance and annuity companies demanding a more ‘competitive’ government sponsored solution.

    5. Propose and pass legislation for nationalizing retirement accounts using similar methods employed in passing national health care legislation. Rolls Royce (large) pension annuities can be taxed in order to provide annuities to those less fortunate (nonsavers).

    Comrade Joe wishes to remain an unnamed member of the proletariat.

    This entry was posted on Monday, January 11th, 2010 at 12:05 PM and is filed under General, IRAs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

    http://www.senseoncents.com/2010/01/blu ... pothetical but interesting)

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