Special Report: Next Step: Single Payer Retirement Plans?

Posted on August 27, 2009. Filed under: Enemies of The State, General Info, Soapbox | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

NEXT STOP- SINGLE PAYER RETIREMENT PLAN ?:
 
Inch by inch, program by program, citizen by citizen the government is hell bent on controlling every aspect of our life. The next example was given sunlight by CNS News: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/53157
 
The Government Accountability Office – the investigative arm of Congress – has laid some of the groundwork for pension reform by publishing a study of the “retirement risks” posed by private pension plans in the United States. “Many experts agree reforms are needed to make the U.S. private pension system more effective in protecting workers from risks to accumulating and preserving adequate savings for retirement,” says the GAO report. “If no action is taken, a considerable number of Americans face the prospect of a reduced standard of living in retirement.” The July 2009 report is addressed to Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. Miller is an advocate of “retirement security.” As part of its study, the GAO examined the pension systems of the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom and found that private pensions in those countries “represent alternative approaches” that could “yield useful lessons for the U.S. experience.” The GAO also examined four “key” domestic proposals to reform the U.S. private pension system – including a government-sponsored, mandatory system called the Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRA) plan. Under this plan, the federal government (Social Security Administration) would establish and administer a system of retirement savings accounts – guaranteeing a specified rate of return on those accounts. Currently, pension plans offered by private employers in the United States are voluntary and include tax incentives to encourage participation. 

READ THE REPORT YOURSELF:  Released August 24, 2009  http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/pastweek.html
Private Pensions: Alternative Approaches Could Address Retirement Risks Faced by Workers but Pose Trade-offs GAO-09-642, July 24, 2009
Commentary for the report was given by Dept of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Dept of Treausury Secretary Timothy Geitner. The report was done for the Education and Labor Dept headed by Democratic Congressman George Miller of California. It is estimated Congressman Miller votes with his party 98% of the time. Miller is a far-left Democrat according to GovTrack’s own analysis of bill sponsorship.  Key legislation he has sponsored is Employee Free Choice Act (card check), and co-sponsored HR 3200 as well as HR 2483 to permanently increase the conforming loan limits for the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation and the Federal National Mortgage Association and the FHA maximum mortgage amount limitations. For other legislation he sponsored or co-sponsored, or to see how he voted on other issues: http://www.opencongress.org/people/bills/400278_George_Miller#sponsored
According to the report:
This report addresses the following questions: (1) What are key risks faced by U.S. workers in accumulating and preserving pension benefits? (2) What approaches are used in other countries that could address these risks and what trade-offs do they present? (3) What approaches do key proposals for alternative plan designs in the U.S. suggest to mitigate risks faced by workers and what trade-offs do they entail? To complete this work, we reviewed research on defined benefit and defined contribution plans, and interviewed pension consulting firms, industry experts, academics, and other relevant organizations in the U.S. and abroad. In addition, we used a microsimulation model to assess the impact of certain strategies to increase pension coverage on accumulated benefits. The Department of Labor and Department of Treasury provided technical comments on this report.

The report also states:

Key legal and administrative changes required by this plan include establishing and administering a system of retirement accounts by the federal government, information sharing by state and local governments, and reducing the current preferential tax treatment of DC plans, such as 401(k) plans (see app. III). Two additional proposals focus specifically on addressing risks associated with retirees’ drawdown of lump-sum benefits by presenting options for increasing the use of annuities as a way to pay out benefits accumulated in DC plans.

Table 11 on page 44 of the 77 page document, illustrates the GRA Plan’s Approaches to Coverage, Contributions, Investments and the Drawdown of Beneifits in Retirement.  For instance, under the Worker column it shows that that those who are not covered by an equal or better employered sponsored plan MUST participate. Workers who are self employed, indepedent contractors, or not covered by their employers also MUST enroll.

Table 15 on page 69 of the report, illustrates a Summary of Administrative Legal Changes Associated with Key Domestic Proposals. It details the role the Federal Government will play in all this. Notice in Universal 401(k) Plan the Feds establish a federally chartered clearinghouse structure that sets up and manages workers accounts as well as facilitates annuity purchases. Under the Guaranteed Retirement Accounts Plan, the Federal Government, under the Social Security Administration, establishes and administers a system of retirement savings accounts and manages and invests plan assets for you with a guaranteed return.

Will this be handled like everything else the government touches? It starts out sounding benevolent, then turns into a vehicle for corruption, abuse, fraud, mismanagement and theft upon the American people. Remember Social Security? That was a guarantee against poverty among the elderly too, when it was introduced in 1935. According to encyclopedia.com:

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt supported temporary emergency relief with enthusiasm but at first opposed a permanent federal role. By late 1934, however, the deepening depression led the president to appoint a Committee on Economic Security to draft a bill. Its staff headed by Edwin Witte and his colleagues from Wisconsin’s state government and the University of Wisconsin, the committee was dominated by proponents of social insurance. Their vision, derived from private life‐insurance plans, called for government funds to replace wages lost through illness, injury, unemployment, or retirement. Its advocates sought to serve the prosperous as well as the poor, thereby avoiding the stigma of “poor relief,” and to prevent, not simply alleviate, poverty. The committee adapted social insurance principles in designing three programs—unemployment compensation, old‐age pensions, and medical insurance, the last of which died owing to opposition from the organized medical profession.
We all know how well that worked out. Ah, but this will entail private accounts, will it not? Well, that is how the original idea is starting out. As anyone who has been a citizen of this country for any length of time can plainly see, our government will find a way to morph that into anything they want at any time of their choosing. 
 

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News for 08/18/2009- Another Day in America Where Nothing Makes Sense

Posted on August 18, 2009. Filed under: Enemies of The State, General Info, Soapbox | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

School Officials Facing Criminal Charges for Prayer  from Liberty Counsel  http://www.lc.org/index.cfm?PID=14102&AlertID=1016
Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and Athletic Director Robert Freeman are facing criminal contempt charges for allegedly violating a court order prohibiting prayer. The ACLU claimed the two men were responsible for a prayer of blessing over a meal at an appreciation luncheon with former booster club members and other adults who helped with a field house project. Liberty Counsel represents Principal Lay and Director Freeman. A trial is scheduled for September 17. If convicted, Mr. Lay and Mr. Freeman could be fined or jailed, yet neither willfully violated any court order. Last year the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the school district, claiming that some of the teachers and administration “endorsed” religion. Rather than fight, the district consented to a very broad order fashioned by the ACLU, essentially banning employees from engaging in prayer or religious activities, whether before, during, or after school hours. Without hearing legal argument, a federal court entered the Consent Order, which unconstitutionally infringes on the rights of teachers, administrators, and students. The ACLU then complained that Mr. Freeman and Mr. Lay violated the order at the luncheon, so a federal judge initiated criminal contempt proceedings and referred the case to the United States Attorney’s office for prosecution. Liberty Counsel says no students were present for the prayer.  

EXPOSED: Big Labor Announces “Secret Plan to Destroy the Right Forever”  from Right To Work http://nrtw.org/en/blog

 In a surprising display of honesty about their true agenda, union bosses and Far Left activists participated on a panel at the Netroots Nation conference called “The Secret Plan to Destroy the American Right.” What’s their “secret plan” to expand the power and size of government and raise taxes on hard-working Americans? It’s passage of the woefully misnamed Employee Free Choice Act, more accurately called the Card Check Forced Unionism Bill. Union bosses apparently see the billions of forced dues dollars that the bill would funnel into pushing Organized Labor’s radical political agenda as THE major selling point for the bill. Unfortunately for the panelists and the Big Labor hierarchy, but fortunately for the American people, there’s nothing secret about the Card Check Forced Unionism Bill and how it would obliterate the rights of American workers.  Right here on Freedom@Work, we’ve kept concerned citizens informed about this union boss power grab:

  • Expert legal analysis explaining how the Card Check Bill would destroy the secret ballot in union certification elections
  • Workers in Albion, Indiana tell Fox News about the real life intimidation they felt during a card check organizing drive by the militant United Auto Workers (UAW) union
  • A former union president testifies before Congress about the dangers of card check organizing
  • Worker explains to Senate labor committee how union goons lied to him to get him to sign a card
  • National Right to Work president Mark Mix discusses card check and union intimidation on a nationally syndicated radio program
  • At the 2009 Conservative Political Action Conference, Mix demonstrates why union bosses love card check
  • Far Left icon George McGovern writes in the Wall Street Journal about another disturbing feature of the Card Check Forced Unionism Bill: mandatory binding arbitration

VICTORY – Flag.gov Dies A Slow Death Monday

Flag.gov bit the dust Monday after first changing, for a few short hours, into a “form” based site, then to gone. While a “form” based site, directions asked informants to please not provide any personal information on someone else nor anyone’s email address. Chalk up one for old fashioned American values, although I doubt the motive was anything other than their lawyers directive.

List of Obama’s Czars and Request For Watchdogs at Glenn Beck.com http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/29391/ 32 Officially, but others in the role of Czar and others to be named later, per the Administration. Glenn Beck is asking concerned citizens to take the name of one and investigate. Research to find their agenda, past alliances, past press. Please send results to Glenn at his website: www.GlennBeck.com

Yet Another Government Takeover of American Business by Friends of the U.S.Chamber of Commerce  http://www.friendsoftheuschamber.com/email/email4.cfm?ID=443 Another day, another assault on free enterprise. This time, it’s the Administration’s so-called Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) Act. This act is supposed to create a new bureaucracy that will protect consumers from fraudulent financial products. In truth, it is another government-run bureaucracy that will actually design financial products of its own — and then require private companies to offer these government-designed products. Free markets be damned.  The House of Representatives is currently considering this flawed bill. Email your Representative now and help stop this government takeover of the American financial system. This bill will stifle competition and put private companies out of business. It will allow big government to choose winners and losers. It will destroy choice and quality for consumers. More big government. Lower quality. Less choice.

Have You Read The Health Care Bill Yet? Find it Here:  http://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/pdf/111/AAHCA09001xml.pdf    

Kathleen Sebelius Misspoke in Saying Public Option Not an Essential Part of Health Care Reform at The Minority Report http://tinyurl.com/la9hkm

Marc Ambinder: An administration official said that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius “misspoke” when she told CNN Sunday morning that a government run health insurance option “is not an essential part” of reform. This official asked not to be identified in exchange for providing clarity about the intentions of the President. The official said that the White House did not intend to change its messaging and that Sebelius simply meant to echo the president, who has acknowledged that the public option is a tough sell in the Senate and is, at the same time, a must-pass for House Democrats, and is not, in the president’s view, the most important element of the reform package.

Dems Not Backing Down On Public Option, But Stepping Up the Fight  from lp.org  http://tinyurl.com/ldx5gc
Faced with withering criticism from the independent voters who elected Obama, as well as polls showing majorities of Americans oppose their health care reform plans and would prefer government inaction to the current system, the media reported this weekend Democrats may consider removing a provision for government-run health insurance from a massive bill outlining a government takeover of the nation’s health care system. Don’t be fooled.  The so-called “public option” isn’t about to be taken off the table. The eradication of your private health insurance plans is at the very core of the entire so-called “reform” movement.  Just listen to official White House health care spokesperson Linda Douglass.  “Nothing has changed. The president has always said that what is essential is that health insurance reform must lower costs, ensure that there are affordable options for all Americans and it must increase choice and competition in the health insurance market. He believes the public option is the best way to achieve those goals.” House Democrats also tell the Capitol Hill newspaper Politico government-run health insurance will stay in their bill.  It’s their goal for the legislation.

 The Array of WH ObamaCare Tactics Grows at American Thinker http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/08/the_array_of_wh_obamacare_tact.html   The White House is deploying an array of tactics to promote ObamaCare. Here’s the list to date.

1.  Warn about the cost of inaction.

2.  Use Grandma to build empathy through association.

3.  Accuse opponents of racial prejudice – play the race card.

4.  Shift the focus of the debate.

5.  When accused of having a controversial proposal, just say “No we don’t.” 

6.  Hide the plan.

7.  Hide key congressional proponents. 

8.  Pretend to give up on controversial issues that were never acknowledged in the first place.

9. Hold pro-Obamacare pep rallies that profess to be open town hall-like events.

10. Blame the media for focusing on the opponents. 

11. Demonize the opposition.

12. Make false claims for Obamacare.

Joker Poker with the Health Care Bill (video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obXt3FUs-yQ   

Obama Unaccustomed to Having His Lies Challenged  Doug Patton  at Canada Free Press http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/13860

Barack Obama is one of the most spoiled politicians ever to capture the imagination of a nation. He has enjoyed what author and newsman Bernard Goldberg has described as “a slobbering love affair” with the American media. So many members of the Fourth Estate in this country have so thoroughly compromised themselves to sell his radical agenda that the American people no longer trust them even to report the news. And now, as the president and his toadies in Congress run into a brick wall in their efforts to take over the American health care system, they are shocked to discover that many of the same people who put them in office last year are outraged at their lies. American citizens have been vilified, marginalized, lied about and smeared by these Washington hucksters. Good people, frustrated at the arrogance of their government, are being called names like a mob, Nazis, evil-mongers, terrorists, etc. Meanwhile, the president and Congress are watching the poll numbers they live by fall into the basement. I wonder why. Most of us learned in kindergarten that when you call other people names, they are not likely to react kindly. And they certainly are not likely to vote for you again. Does this president really have so little regard for the medical practitioners of this country that he believes an American physician would cut off a limb just to put money in his/her pocket? Is this how his mind works? Does he have no shame? Does he actually know of such a doctor? Does he have evidence of such a contemptible act? If so, why is he not reporting it? We all know the answer to that. He is simply a liar who will say or do anything to drive home his agenda.

Obama’s State Department Submits to Islam by American Thinker

Here is but the latest act of submission to Islam by your State Department. A State Department cable has just been sent out with this announcement:

The Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP) has assembled a range of innovative and traditional tools to support Posts’ outreach activities during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Here, in contrast, is the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
The State Department’s Ramadan programs are wide-ranging. “On August 10,” the cable continues, “America.gov will publish a ‘Multicultural Ramadan’ feature. American Muslims trace their ancestry to more than 80 countries and the feature will highlight the richness of these various cultural traditions through the lens of Ramadan and Eid. Content will include essays by young Muslims who are part of Eboo Patel’s Interfaith Youth Core (IYC). Contact: Alexandra Abboud (AbboudAM@state.gov).”
 
There’s more! The Bureau of International Information Programs “will publish three articles for Ramadan 2009 addressing the concept of an Islam in America ‘brand’; advocacy (civic and political) of the Muslim American community; and community innovation/community building. The writer will contact Muslim American experts in each of these fields. These articles will be available on America.gov in English, Arabic, and Persian.”
The main publication is Being Muslim In America: “Conceived as IIP’s flagship print publication on the rich and varied experiences of the nation’s growing Muslim population, this lavishly illustrated new book links the Muslim-American experience to those of other American racial, religious, and immigrant groups as they moved into the American ‘mainstream.'”
Can you imagine every Embassy and consulate putting up a Menorah and having some Rabbis as speakers via a webcast? Can you imagine if we had the Stations of the Cross put on the walls of all of our embassies, consulates, and other posts, as well as the many Department of State buildings across the country, including C Street? Why aren’t priests, pastors, etc. invited during Christmas to give blessings or talk about Christianity in the United States? Can you imagine if the Buddha were revered and we had some monks coming to do a meditation session with all of the officers of each embassy, consulate, etc.? Can we get printed and distributed Hare Krishna posters for all of our posts, so as to reach massive audiences? I mean, put it in reverse and see how crazy it is. Absolutely nuts.
Perhaps this is an initiative of President Barack Obama’s newly created Office for Outreach to the Ummah at State. In June Obama had the Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, at the White House. Ihsanoglu urged Obama to appoint a U.S. ambassador to the Islamic world – and Obama immediately created a new State Department Office for Muslim Outreach, with a Muslim woman, Farah Pandith, serving as the new U.S. Special Representative for Muslim Outreach. In keeping with Obama’s U.S.-Muslim Engagement Project, a charter of dhimmitude, we are to be conditioned to respect Muslim immigrants and accept their culture.
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