Meltdown: Retirement funds, financial assets vulnerable to govt seizure

As the Obama administration assures Americans that 'there are signs of hope' in the economy, the facts say the opposite.  The forecast is so dire, in fact, that the retirement funds and financial assets of all Americans are vulnerable to government seizure.

Economists and market analysts who predicted the last meltdown are joining in a united chorus to warn that yet another is on the way for 2010, and this one will be much worse than the last.

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

In an alarming piece at WRSA the assertion is made by several respected authorities on economics that the U.S. Treasury Department will attempt to seize retirement accounts and other private assets in order to address the growing probability that a financial meltdown is on the way for the United States.

Karl Denninger at Market Watch put it this way:

Now this is a guaranteed rape job.

In a short conversation this noontime that CNBC apparently has omitted from their archives (Why's that folks?) Rick Santelli was talking about a potential to effectively force money into the Treasury market.

Where would they get this?

From your 401k and IRA accounts!

From Businessweek:

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, according to Assistant Labor Secretary Phyllis C. Borzi and Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Mark Iwry, who are spearheading the effort.

Let me tell you what this is - it is an attempt to prevent the collapse of the Treasury market!

The upshot?  This is tantamount to outright theft, courtesy of the federal government.  And your life's savings are at stake.

Further, Denninger blows the whistle on the supposed 'option' that gives Americans a 'choice' of whether or not to put their funds into short-duration Treasuries:

I have no quarrel with the government mandating that you have a choice in your IRA or 401k account to buy short-duration Treasuries - much like the "G" fund that government and civil-service workers have.

But - "choices" have a funny way of turning into mandates, and this looks to me like a raw admission that Treasury knows it will not be able to sell its debt in the open market - so they will effectively tax you by forcing your "retirement" money to buy them!

In other words, the U.S. Government sees a massive financial storm on the horizon that is moving in fast.  The Feds know that under current conditions with our 13 trillion-dollar debt there is no way we can weather that storm.  And they are fully aware that at least 3 trillion dollars are sitting there in the private sector in IRAs, retirement accounts, and 401K plans.

By effectively seizing those accounts through the back-door method, carefully avoiding referring to the plan as a 'seizure,' the Feds can get their hands on funds they can convert to Treasuries, which will in turn help the government weather the coming storm.

But the losers are you and me.  Be prudent.  Protect yourself.

For commentary on a variety of issues, visit my blog at The Liberty Sphere.