The Government Is Coming for Your 401K

by | Nov 15, 2021

The Government Is Coming for Your 401K

by | Nov 15, 2021

pexels tara winstead 7111529

Quiet conversations are occurring in the halls of Congress, think tanks, NGOs, and academia on how to continue the enrichment of the public sector elites and their various complexes (military, education, financial, healthcare, and “non-profits”). The “wise men” know China’s ability to absorb our inflationary monetary and fiscal policies is near capacity. Yes, the “undesirables” (mostly working class) are on their way out but with inflation rising the Federal Reserve cannot just keep printing money and monetizing the debt. A “wealth” tax on billionaires is not going to fly and will not raise the trillions needed anyway. So where to go? They cannot drastically raise taxes, which would threaten their reelection. So where?

The Federal Government receives about $4 trillion in taxes while spending at least $7 trillion (and up to $9 trillion with Biden’s agenda) annually. 65% is non-productive entitlement spending. The other 45% is mostly spent on non-productive activities. Bottom line, government spending at the federal level does not increase our productivity which is the only way living standards rise. The Federal Reserve can print and monetize the debt, but this causes inflation which as previously stated cannot be offshored any longer. And there is the threat (albeit low) of losing the reserve currency status of the dollar. Lose that and the entire game is up.

Throw in a business downturn, exacerbating the revenue side. and its no wonder the elites are asking in hushed tones about those individual savings accounts and 401Ks. There are $9 trillion in savings residing in banks and another $7 trillion in 401K accounts. To a good Keynesian economist these deposits are a liability. Savings is bad as economies can only grow on consumption. Something about “aggregate demand” and “animal spirts” is usually the explanation to the gullible media. Of course, rates of savings should be driven by the market and not government as they signal either investment needed for productivity gains or consumption to enjoy when earned. The argument will be quite simple and powerful. “Your money is needed for the community, to rebuild America, to make America fairer and more equitable, to create a better future for you and your family.” Anyone pointing out it’s their money to spend or save are “greedy” or “privileged” or “unAmerican.”

Your savings accounts full of potential tax money are just sitting there when consumption needs juiced (“Gotta get that aggregate demand up”). The federal government can just take the money and leave an IOU, using 401K accounts as collateral for federal deficit spending from the private sector (removing the problem with the Federal Reserve printing money to buy U.S. Treasury loans). Your accounts should provide the backing for nice low rates for borrowing. And forget about asking for a return when the federal government “borrows” them.

“No way this will occur.”

“It is illegal.”

“Elected officials will never do this.”

I would only point out that our elected officials have run up $27 trillion in debt, enforced draconian COVID-19 lockdown measures, created a surveillance state post-2001, and invaded numerous countries based on lies. And now they’ve even sent the FBI after parents who disagree with cultural Marxism being taught in our public schools. This is not a remote possibility but a likely scenario.

As Murray Rothbard wrote;

Government was constructed neither for ability nor for the exercise of loving care; government was built for the use of force and for necessarily demagogic appeals for votes.

Mike Fedele is a product manager in the private sector with over 30 years experience in finance, operations, an marketing. He holds a BS in Chemistry and an MBA. 

About Mike Fedele

Our Books

latest book lineup.

Related Articles

Related

TGIF: Israel Humiliated

TGIF: Israel Humiliated

To more fully understand the ferocity of Israel's massacre of the people of the Gaza Strip, it's perhaps worth considering that on October 7, 2023, the reputedly invincible Israeli Defence Forces and intelligence services were made to look like fools caught sleeping...

read more
In Defense of Inaction

In Defense of Inaction

On March 17, The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by a woman named Mary Anastasia O’Grady titled, “Giving up on Haiti Isn’t a U.S. Option.” She argues, in short, that Americans don’t have a choice but to continue doing all the things that have failed in the past...

read more
Is America a Rogue Superpower?

Is America a Rogue Superpower?

“Unipolar” used to mean that the United States was, at least in theory, alone in leading the world. Now “unipolar” means that the United States is alone and isolated in opposition to the world. In global affairs, a hegemon is a nation that leads because it has the...

read more
Collateral Murder 2.0

Collateral Murder 2.0

When the footage of Reuters journalists and civilians were Wikileaked to the world, there was outrage. A shame exhibited by some in the American government caused them to reel from the crime that had been exposed, to downplay the prevalence of such murders, and...

read more
The Fed and the Fight for 2%

The Fed and the Fight for 2%

Last week, Jerome Powell & Co. met to issue an immediate decision regarding the status of the federal funds rate for March, and to provide some insight into the trajectory of monetary policy for the rest of 2024 and into 2025. As with the past few inflation...

read more