Politicians, especially Democrats, love talking about raising taxes on the rich because they say it’s only fair. But they know there aren’t enough rich folks in America to make a difference. They also know there’s vast wealth out there in the retirement accounts of middle class taxpayers. So it only makes sense they would be mulling over how to get there hands on our 401k savings.
Uncle Sam, in a desperate attempt to fix its $16 trillion-plus deficit, is leering over Americans’ retirement nest egg as its new bailout fund.
Capitol Hill politicians are assessing tax changes that could let the Internal Revenue Service lay claim to a portion of the $18 trillion sitting in 401(k) accounts and other tax breaks used by middle-class workers, including cutting the mortgage tax deduction.
A commission looking for ways to close the deficit, and, noting the extent of 401(k) tax breaks, recommends an examination of the system as one way to prevent government bankruptcy.
Besides 401(k)s, other possibilities include the mortgage-interest deduction on second homes, as well as benefits from employer-provided health insurance, which are untaxed now.
Under current 401(k) rules, total employee/employer contributions can’t exceed $50,000. In the proposed rule change, employer/employee contributions would be limited to 20 percent of the employee’s compensation, with a maximum of $20,000, the so-called 20/20 proposal.
Another proposal being discussed in Congress says all tax deductions on 401(k)s and IRAs to be replaced with an 18 percent credit. (Read More)
Founder’s Quote Daily
Monday, April 23, 2012
“If, then, the control of the people over the organs of their government be the measure of its republicanism, and I confess I know no other measure, it must be agreed that our governments have much less of republicanism than ought to have been expected; in other words, that the people have less regular control over their agents, than their rights and their interests require.”
–Thomas Jefferson, letter to John Taylor, 1816
http://patriotpost.us/index/
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I don’t know why they are called lawmakers. Kleptocrats might be more accurate. And along those lines, Brian Lamb interviewed Douglas Wissing last nite on cspan about his book ‘Funding the Enemy’. That would be the Taliban. Looks like there are tons of dippy ‘contracts’ to do all sorts of silly Nation Building things – half a million for stuff that shouldn’t even cost 1/10th of that. Its a spending game – gotta spend or else you get less. It seems to me that the whole affair in Afghanistan was essentially taken care of by a few guys we put there at the start, and then it slowly morphed into an occupation and trying to turn the place into something that is designed to fail. A boondoggle on steroids. Far as I can tell, the Taliban is the Pashtun militia. They are understandably crazy after 20 years of abuse by Brezhnev. We were morally right to help the Afghans to shoot down Soviet Hind Helicopters, and did all that thru Pakistan. Then the Paki got the bomb and any Aid was stopped by the democrats, and Afghans fell into a civil war, and these half crazed and illiterate folks who were living in caves are supposed to be some kind of threat to America ? Where is there any wisdom in this ? So now we are building dams with junk cement from pakistan that crumbles, trying to grow wheat in the mountains, and so forth. There is a Taliban because we are on their turf, just like there was a Continental Army because the Brits occupied Boston. Only the Afghans can rebuild their place – and it is not a nation in any western sense of the word, and never was. But I am sure they have more constructive things to do.
The point being that a whole lot of the debt is due to this kind of baloney, and that is why the kleptocrats have an eye on the 401k – well, mine is practically gone anyway. Thanks a bunch, kleptos.
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Dems are spending us into bankruptcy and now they want people’s 401K’s to tax. Trillions have been wasted..no budget by them for 4 years..loaning money to Columbia for oil refineries, Brazil to drill for oil promissing we will buy our oil from them….this is frightening. Hopefully, people will have to show ID to vote in the states Holder is stopping the act of showing ID at voting booths.. making it possible for the dead, illegals…dogs, cats, etc. to vote for them. Disgusting..I feel like I’am living in a banna republic. I forgot these idiots voted for Obama care without reading it.
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