(NaturalNews) - When it comes to your retirement account, you probably keep an eye on Wall Street and the financial markets because when they lose value, your account loses value. Little did you know you are going to have to keep an eye on Uncle Sam as well, because he's eyeing your retirement too, and he could soon take what he will claim is his
fair share of it.
If you think that sounds absurd, think again. In fact, it's a concept that is
already being used by some governments, the most recent of which is Ireland.
In a bid to finance a "jobs" program, the Irish government, which is heavily in debt,
is set to impose a new levy - read "tax" - on private retirement accounts. The accounts of government workers will be exempt.
"It's truly disgusting logic to force private workers to pay for years of political incompetence while absolving government employees," writes Simon Black, entrepreneur and founder of
SovereignMan.com, a Web site about financial and practical independence.
Black says the idea of robbing private pension funds by broke governments to pay for existing or expanding government programs is an idea that is catching on. "Pension funds are attractive targets for politicians who have wide eyes and the most carnal thoughts at the site of any large pool of cash," he says, noting that the French government last year adopted laws "allowing politicians to steal retirement funds from the public in order to pay off other debts."
It's an idea
that is catching on in the United States too, mostly because there are trillions of dollars in private retirement accounts, and the federal government is trillions of dollars in debt - with trillions more promised in benefits like Social Security, Medicare and now a massive new health care law.
Black says it's likely any attempt by the U.S. government to seize private
retirement accounts would be preceded by a cataclysmic economic event similar to the 2008 financial crisis, only worse. This time, lawmakers will respond by changing investment law that may force retirement account holders to invest a portion of their savings in, say, 30-year Treasury notes.
Some lawmakers are onto this, however. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., has recently criticized such efforts in a letter to the Obama administration warning against attempts to confiscate Americans'
retirement accounts.
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