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Martin Armstrong Warns "Kiss Your Pension Fund Goodbye"
Submitted by Martin Armstrong via ArmstrongEconomics.com,
I have been warning for some time that government was eyeing up pensions.The amount in private pension funds is about $19.4 trillion. The question that has been debated in secret behind the curtain is how to justify to the people taking that over. I have been warning that if this is seized by government, it will come after 2015.75. Just how that is to be accomplished was finally settled by the Supreme Court without any justification constitutionally.
The US Supreme Court ruled last week in the unanimous, 8-page decision in Tibble v. Edison holding that employers have a duty to protect workers in their 401(k) plans from mutual funds that are too expensive or perform poorly. That is simply astonishing since there is no constitutional requirement for even government to provide social benefits. The Supreme court held in HARRIS v. McRAE, 448 U.S. 297 (1980) it was explained that the constitution is negative not positive. There is no duty imposed upon the state to provide a program for that would convert the constitution from a negative restrain upon government to a positive obligation to provide for everyone.
If we take the fact that the constitution is NEGATIVE and was a restrain upon government, then this latest ruling is completely unfounded. Monday’s unanimous ruling sends a warning to employers that they now must improve their plans and it is now an obligation to project employees. This comes just in time for then the next step is government to seize private funds and prosecute employers who choose badly a fund manager. This fits perfectly just in time for the Obama administration’s next assault as they prepare a landmark change of its own by issuing rules requiring that financial advisers put the interest of customers ahead of their own. This creates a very gray area wide enough to justify public seizure of pension funds under management.
This ruling will have a dramatic impact upon investment management and we have already received calls asking about using our model for management purposes since it has one of the longest track records that can be verified in the industry. What this ruling imposes is a tremendous duty upon the plan fiduciary who must now back up his decision with proof. This may also have the impact of foreclosing new fund managers from entering the business since they will lack the track record.
Yet this decision is even deeper. It sets the stage to JUSTIFY government seizure of private pension funds to protect pensioners. When the economy turns down and things get messy, they are placing measures in place to eliminate money in and physical dimension, closing all tax loopholes, shutting down the world economy with FATCA, and preparing for the final straw of Economic Totalitarianism with the Supreme Court reversing its entire construction of the Constitution to impose a duty upon employers to ensure the 401K plans perform in a world where interest rates are going negative. You really cannot make up this level of insanity.
The message here is not that all 401(k)s are bad or too expensive. In fact, costs have fallen 30 percent over the past decade as more plan sponsors turn to low-cost passive investing options. But this can be highly dangerous for to lower costs they turn to government debt where there is no need for fund management decisions. Yes, when I did hedge fund management, the cost was 5% annually plus 20% performance. That cost went to staff around the world that had to monitor positions and the world economy on a 24 hours basis. You paid also NOT to trade for most losses took place when traders were bored are would trade to try to make money when there was nothing to be done. Our track record was the best ever in the industry with the lowest drawn down perhaps in fund management. But that risk reduction cost money.
Today, costs vary widely. Plans with more than $100 million in assets usually have total annual costs below 1% whereas the biggest plans usually are below 0.50%. In small plans, the costs can be as high as 2% today. The focus is now on cost – not performance.
Financial service companies can charge a range of management, administrative, marketing, distribution and record-keeping fees for 401(k) plans. Plan sponsors can assume the costs, but employees are paying at least 85% of all fees typically. It is true that most workers do not know they pay the bulk of the share of costs. A 2011 AARP survey found that 71% of retirement savers do not think they pay any investment fees at all. It is true that the fees make a huge difference in returns over time. However, this drive to lower costs has also lowered the quality of funds management.
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that a 1% point difference on a current account balance of $25,000 will reduce total accumulations by 28% over 35 years, assuming average returns of 7% and no further contributions. The focus is all on these management fees without any consideration of the problem. Trying to manage money varies according to the size of the fund. The more you gather, often the lower the performance because the markets are not unlimited. You can pick up the phone and say “sell at the market” when you have a $100 million fund, you cannot do that with a $100 billion fund. So the management fee was also a means to reduce the number of clients and it was never a question of unlimited capacity to trade. The numbers on performance would decline with greater amounts of money under management for the manager lost flexibility.
The Supreme Court case clearly shows that lack of understanding of the industry yet the battle centered on the 401(k) plan’s use of retail-class mutual funds when less-expensive institutional shares were available. The difference between those classes typically is 25 basis points. This will now put pressure on large plans to cut costs further but will not have much impact on smaller plans. That is because big plans have the buying power to negotiate better deals but at the same time they are the easy target for lawyers making them much more attractive targets for litigation.
Cutting management fees to the bone may in fact set the stage for massive losses for many of the older better traders are now just resigning. The quality of the funds management is more likely than not going to decline noticeably.
Between the court ruling and the Obama administration’s push for stronger fiduciary rules send a strong message that government can much easier seize the pension fund management industry of course to “protect the consumer”.
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can't kiss what has been lick-wa-dated. she done been thru da hoop. have a nice try uncle scam...
I hear over and over the concern people have over gold being confiscated. It certainly isn’t any different in any other asset class. Stocks and bonds in pensions and 401k’s, and certainly bank accounts are even more vulnerable. At least with physical gold and silver you get to look the thief in the eyes.
In the future gold and silver are more likely to replace bonds as the preferred ‘safe’ asset rather than what they are normally compared to, currency.
I have no pension.
My parents do. My poor mother really believes it will be there for her.
I am fully anticipating her becoming my complete financial ward when this goes south.
(BTW government employee & government pension)
Don't need no stinkin' SCOTUS ruling! We have El Supremo Dictator Obozo and his almighty executive orders...
If he wants your pension fund, he'll take it...
Stroke of the pen... Law of the land!
And who's gonna stop him? Boehner?... McConnell?...
ROTFLMAO!!!
scrotus
the people already have a pension fund manager.
her name is myra.
" It's only Fair. "
Years ago I paid the tax, paid the penalty, and now I hold it in my hand. At age 30, there's no chance in hell that it would still be there when I need it.
Ho ho.. he he
Just hope your broke private
pension fund goes off to
To the PBGC..
(you will get less, but at least they have a direct connection to the Heidelberg)
"employers have a duty to protect workers in their 401(k) plans"
"It's my dooty to manage your booty"
--Samuel L. Goldstein
It's my duty to look after myself.
If there is government (not the best idea humanity ever came up with) its only duty should be keeping shit somewhat organized.
Imagine if money was backed by something tangible, fiat, fractional reserve, income tax and the back-door tax known as inflation, didn't exist......
Keeping numbers simple.
Start work at 20 - work 40 years and SAVE half of what you make.
Retire at 60 knowing that, because inflation isn't eating what you saved, your good to 100.
If you go before 100, there's something for your kids.
I think I may be on the wrong planet.
Via Ross Perot-ish: "That giant sucking sound, was at one time, your ripe pension."
With stocks at historically valuations, pensions are ripe for the picking! Better seize them now, before the next recession kicks in and forces the boomers to raid the leftovers themselves.
Robert Kiyosaki warned about this back in his book "Prophecy" like what 15+ years ago? He said it would happen around 2015/2016, obviously he has strong foresight...
The state of the kleptocracy is strong.
At least with physical gold and silver you get to look the thief in the eyes.
***
Through a Trijicon, I presume?
Martin Armstrong, a slightly controlled but still brilliant voice.
2015.75 comes ever closer...
Nightforce Benchrest 12-42x56 makes 500 yards easy work - the further the better IMHO.
Pension? 401k? All gone - if you don't have it out by now, it's toast - see Greece - see Jade Helm - see cashless society.
PHYSICAL Ag Au Pb and, ah forget it. If you don't know by now, see the toaster, see Greece. See ZH 2010.
So long and thanks for all the fish.
One would think that of the three pillars of our imaginary governmental system, the Justice branch would be the most untouchable. Afterall, judges are appointed for life and thus don't have to worry about graft to be re-elected.
Alas, the corrupted of the Executive and Legislative tentacles have successfully filled the courts with equally soulless (or just indifferent) twits that have no sense of honor or duty in upholding the holy writ of our once-vaunted Constitution. It truly has become simply a "worthless piece of paper".
Only a second revolution will suffice if there is ever to be an honest Republic again between our two oceans.
Try 4 pillars... (but not legislative, executive, & judicial)
MSM being the 'propaganda arm' (MSM, banking, political activism, & jurisprudence being the others)
But CH1 will be here in 5...4...3...2... to tell you that no jews will be involved in any of those 4 'pillars'... So you're money is probably safe & sound...
Bravo, AIIB.
However, I would place the banksters as the most powerful branch of our "government". MSM is their useful tool to keep the plebes under the delusion of the original system.
no doubt
5th pillar-Total surveillance.
Keeps any outliers in the other 4 contained....right John Roberts?
You're almost there, logicalman.
The purpose of individuals appealing to a third party to govern by the use of compulsion is with a view that the governing body may only use compulsion as the means to remove an existing compulsion among the individuals. Were the governing body to establish compulsion and thereby intitiate the compulsion themselves they would be wrong. The object is to free the individual's natural right of way and not to impede it.
Simple enough, right? So then the establishment of a national bank, the monopoly of the Federal Reserve, is compulsory upon the individuals and not volitional by the individuals...etc, etc.
Could be a favored talking point at a second convention of states per Article V of the constitution. Sounds tin-foil, right? But what is the alternative? Continue to boil like frogs or bloody revolt?
The Founders left a secret passage hidden in plain sight whereby ballots are given another chance over bullets.
(you are on the right planet. ...don't let it go.)
“Above all, remember that the door stands open. Be not more fearful than children; but as they, when they weary of the game, cry, “I will play no more,” even so, when thou art in the like case, cry “I will play no more,” and depart. But if thou stayest, make no lamentation.”
The Golden Sayings of Epictetus (1-90+ AD), XLIV, Harvard Classics; The Five Foot Shelf of Books, Vol 2, Copyright 1909, P.F. Collier and Son Company, New York, Page 131.
'The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane'.
Marcus Aurelius
Aurelius was a Stoic and a follower of Epictetus
I do not read the new ruling as being anything like taking away anybody's pension. The penalty of non-compliance, for lack of a care of duty will be monetary upon the plan sponsor. It's targeted at the plan sponsor providing the appropriate vehicles as options, etc. I share people's scorn of government meddling, but this has been discussed since the 1974 passage of the ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act), FFS.
This is nothing new and nothing more than fear porn.
Robbed by financial industry parasites or robbed by gov scum. Such dilemma.
Untill it becomes an "epidemic" of poorly managed funds and government must take over all retirement funds "for your own good".
So I still can get my pension fund managed by John Corzine?
He's got a proven track record.
I got dewy-eyed diligence.
Cankles will probably have Corzine as her treasury secretary.
Yet another reason to cause a crash. Pension funds perform poorly giving the government an excuse to seize them...
http://debtcrash.report/entry/never-let-a-good-crisis-go-to-waste
OT.. but it caught my attention..
A story is out there about a Danish radio guy that killed a baby bunny while on air in the hopes of stirring controversy about how the food factories work.
I don’t think he killed the baby bunny.
They lost the Nordic stones long ago.
It will take some Nazis to kill the little bunnies.
Like they will kill the pensions.
myra manes
"scrotus"
Scrotum.
scrotus def.- the area between the scrotum and anus.
He has a phone too!
Sorry if this has been pointed out already, but my interpretation of this SCOTUS decision is that they got it right.
Most of the 401(k) plans that I've had the opportnity to observe are generally made up of about 10-12 funds, usually 10-12 of the largest funds. This means they are all basically investing in the S&P 500 and a couple of PIMCO/Vanguard bond funds. The fidicuary liability is, and should be, huge.
Now, the SCOTUS decision assumes a non-broken market, so let me play the optimist here and envision a day when markets actually matter again.....fair enough? This decision actually opens up the market to advisors who might actually recommend investment solutions that don't just parrot certain indices. This is a good thing.
I told my Mother years ago she should take her pension for it's worth now.... But she and partially my dad are still in the matrix and can't see it. It really is a wall of the mind that prevents many people from doing what is needed.
Even though they may "feel" it, it takes much more to act on it.
My last close relative, who remembered the Depression, has been dead for a dozen years. This credit deflation will look a little different, but do the same thing. That is, leave the slow learners penniless.
This will happen as it always happens, one turn of the screw at a time.
Be proud to take it on, we are all going to die. My parents didn't even have burial insurance and I was privileged to take care of it. They gave me life and love and devotion. I'll never regret a nickel I spent in their later years and would give anything to have them here to really lavishly spend now that I can afford it.
my guns and gold will have to be pried from my cold dead hands. And here is a kicker, I know a few cops that will do the same. Not every peace officer is a scumbag. Oh yea Mr. O, go fuck yourself.
Birds of a feather flock together. Your cop buddies sure are fucking scum, whether you want to admit it or not
what do you do for work? let's see if we can group you in as a fucker of some sort too.
PREACH IT JOSE! AMEN BROTHER!!
Let's say the US Goobermint nationalizes all these retirement accounts. They will need liquidity to pay the bills since you can't pay someone with stock certificates and you can eat them. So they start selling $19 trillion of equities and bonds over the next 5-10 years. What happens to the market with such a huge seller?
That's easy. PANIC BUYING!!!
Fed prints, and buys whatever there is for sale. They can print to infinity. Digital currency only takes a couple strokes on the keyboard to create.
"So they start selling $19 trillion of equities and bonds over the next 5-10 years. What happens to the market with such a huge seller?"
That was going to happen anyways when the Baby Boomers started to stop contributing from pensions/retirement plans. This was discussed ad nauseum circa 1999.
What's changed demographically?
Open borders?
Right. It's the pensions that they will seize. Talk of gold seizure is a distraction (intentional?). Gold and silver will make a roaring come back after the fact. There's a whole generation of boobs to fleece!
Like Wille Sutton said, 'That's where the money is'.
It's been a year since this trial balloon was floated;
http://www.wealthdaily.com/articles/obama-introduces-another-ponzi-schem...
This isn't just about the money. Its about power and control. They have all the money they and their ancesters will ever need. Its the pychopathic drive to empoverish and control the masses and that means everyone. When you have no job and then yuor 401k is seized and your bank account is bailed in, what are you going to do? What will you eat not tonight but for the next several weeks or months. Get in line for the goverment handout and sign up for the new world order that guarantees the loss of all of your liberties and freedoms. Its coming and either you roll over and give in, or you die, or yuo fight back. There are a lot more of us then them but how many of us arent so fucked up stupid to fight back? It'll take 5% manybe 15%, who knows!
"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help. "
Some people just have to learn the hard way. The trick is not be crushed when the reaping begins and the frantic stampede ensues.
Miffed
the simple explanation is that *we* are living on *their* planet, and our welcome is wearing thin. the mindset justifies anything - go check the georgia guidestones for a bit more of the plan.
You both got it. Have you ever read "American Apocolypse"?
Not for the faint of heart, I assure you. But a good idea what they have planned for us.
"The trick is not be crushed when the reaping begins"
Well, how are you going to get your name out of the fishbowl?? Or your kids name? Go along with it all?? Hunger Games here we come!!
That's why I panicked early:
Step 1. Rolled the 401k into an IRA
Step 2. Got into an Allocation of paper assets I can live with under the circumstances.
Step 3. Just reached the milestone where I can make withdrawals w/o Early Withdrawal Penalty, and reinvest in global private equities that are backed by real collateral.
Not perfect, but it beats the alternative: being oblivious, or just 'hoping'.
"This isn't just about the money. Its about power and control."
Yes. And the more people will give in, the more they will harass people. It is a well-known fact: when arbitrary power doesn't meet resistance, it goes into overdrive. Translation: the powerful get bored, so they get sadistic. They need their ego boosts and they'll get them at your expenses.
Sorry about you. Too bad.
Meanwhile, you can carry on comforting yourselves by deriding "the commies". At least, they had the balls to make revolutions (which is why they were/are feared and hated by each and every US leader and oligarch, with all the sheeple toeing the line).
"Commies" just believe what is yours is ours. Not anything different than what our government is doing right now. In case you haven't noticed...we are all "commies" now, whether we want to be or not...just like in the USSR and Mao China. Just goin along to get along.
Does it really matter if we are owned by corporatists, fascists, oligarchs or Mao himself? We do what we are told or suffer the consequences. This has always been about power and all of the different "ideologies" or religions that could be used to muster the brute strength of the "mob" to take control.
And they are always doing for our best interests...got it?
"Commies"? Nah. Rulers and Predators believe that things are theirs, if they make It so. Don't fall for the Magician's Trick.
Tell you something else... in spite of sheep smiles, sheep noises and sheep clothing on Sunday morning, Rulers and Predators do NOT subscribe to the "Religion of Sheep". They made up that stuff 1700 years ago (325 AD at Council of Nicaea) for their own benefit.
Interestingly, your analogy to predators and prey works pretty well in human society.
Replace 'predators' with 'banking/government' and 'prey' with 'everyone else' and you have a decent description of humanity.
Or take the metaphor further and call countries Slave Farms where the masters of the countries are Owners and the slaves are their livestock?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbp6umQT58A
Lea: "Translation: the powerful get bored, so they get sadistic."
Caligula comes to mind. Do we have to go through all that again???
...did you go through it the first time?
"That is simply astonishing since there is no constitutional requirement for even government to provide social benefits."
strawman... that has nothing to do with interpreting the law... the point of the ruling regarded the question of "does ERISA time-bar claims brought against fiduciaries if the initial breach occurred more than six years before filing, but allegedly harmed the beneficiaries within the last six years"...
it certainly has jack shit all to do with OMG The Great Kenyan Socialist is stealing our pensions herp derp...
this article is a steaming pile of shit built on an obvious logical fallacy... simply worthless
I agree. This article is possibly the most dim-witted legal analysis I've ever read, and it has led me to conclude that I would never hire Martin Armstrong to pull dandelions out of my lawn, because he would obviously lack the brainpower to do the job.
The Supreme Court case is actually about the statute of limitations for an ERISA lawsuit based upon a breach of duty by a fiduciary. There is absolutely no dispute that an employer is a "fiduciary" as that term is defined in ERISA. As a Fiduciary, every employer has a duty, one based upon common law principles of trust management that are hundreds of years old, to protect the money they hold in trust. They cannot spend it on gold-plated toilet seats for their offices, nor can they spend it on bad contracts that enrich their golf buddies in the mutual fund industry.
The narrow holding in the case is that the Ninth Circuit needs to accept the case rather than broom it due to an erroneous interpretation of the statute of limitations for breach of fiduciary claims. Nowhere does it have even one word that could be used to support even a head-up-the-ass argument that the government can seize the money held in private pension plans.
Something is worse than worthless if it utterly wastes your time.
I'm with Dan Rather on this one. ( the lying cocksucker that he is)
Just because the facts don't support the case does not mean the underlying premise is flawed.
Just because I'm paranoid and seeing conspiracies behind every press announcement does not mean they are not out to rob me blind.
Can we all at least support the notion that if our loving overlords DID see the opportunity to take ownership of our remaining wealth, they WOULD take it?
You're exaggerating. Half of the articles on ZH are this bad. Reading any article from Margin, Michael, or Charles is usually a waste of time.
who the fuck cares, i doubled the money in gold, oil and nat resources and pulled every last dime out, paid uncle fuck and bought recreational land. i hunt deer and nobody can take it away, plus nobody wants it cept wack jobs like me, bug out land where ya best be on your best behavior if ya be a visitiin w/o pmission, ha. fuckem if they cant take a joke. grouse are drummin, just sayin...
New Game - nice move. Can not deny that, but be careful about being so smug. You are not out of the woods. For example, a lot of unfortunate guys with the same idea set themselves up in The State of Jefferson, only to find out the bad guys own the weather. Deer have to drink. Grass has to grow.
For what its worth, I'm way out as well. In all sincerity, good luck.
Yeah, but remember, you are being surveilled more intensely than that buck in your scope.
Exactly, you can't squeeze blood from a turnip as my Irish mother is fond of saying. I'm in my 40's and never had a 'pension' option, I do maintain a token 401K that gets minimal contributions. I'm more concerned with refilling my medical marijuana prescription than my 401K....
Learn how to be self-sufficient. It can be done. It feels like freedom.
Yea, that's the ticket. Maybe the feds can manage private pension plans like they did Social Security. Can't wait.
I don't have a job, I don't have a 401k, I don't have an IRA, and I don't have a pension. Am I at risk?
Fuck the "Supreme Court"!
People mistakenly believe that SCOTUS rulings are the ultimate determination on whether something is Constitutional or not.
I guess I'm one of the mistaken ones - please explain.
Me too. I guess ultimately the people hold the power, as one could hold a Constitutional Convention and change the Constitution however they want it. What is it --- 2/3rds of states? Apart from that -- SCOTUS is the arbiter of what is and is not inline with the Constitution.
I'm starting to worry that ZH has been hacked or people left their accounts signed in and their children are posting under their names.
Do you honestly believe SCOTUS always rules in accordance with the Constitution and that they are steadfast in their lack of bias? May I point you out to those pesky little ammendments called 9 and 10 (or back then they might have been titled IX and X).
Reallly? You are not aware of how Constituationally protected rights have been eroded by SCOTUS rulings for like 200 years now? You don't think that SCOTUS is politicized and follows their own agenda? There might not be any hope for you.
lol, the 2/3 states are beholden to billions of federal funding for education, hiways ect. lol if you think these states are going to break rank and risk da money. lol. scam from one end to the other. states rights were exchanged for the power of the purse.
Correct. The constitution has bee usurped. As has been stated by many an official, the constitution is irrelevant if the government is only trying to help. And as stated, given the states are buried under unfunded mandates that can only be funded by federal money fresh off the press, states have no rights..well to be precise they have rights, they just can't exercise them. We can all say anything we want...except NO.
Whotookmyalias - your point about the SCOTUS as last arbiter of constitutional compliance is a good one, but your explanation kind of misses the mark. Its really very simple. Just a question of reading comprehension. Can free men read the document and form their own valid conclusions? The Constitution has always been the law of the land since its inception. A lot of scoundrels in DC have been breaking the law for a long time now and so far getting away with it.
According to the Constitution, SCOTUS is there to check the Legislative and the Executive. It does this by ascertaining whether the actions by the Legislature or the POTUS (or any of his sub departments) acts in accordance with the Constitution.
This has nothing to do with whether they do it effectivly, however, under the current system they ARE the final say. Sorry if you don't like it.
It's not whether I like it or not, it's that some people don't get it and that can be dangerous.
Where does it say that in the Constitution? I didn't realize Marbury v. Madison had actually been ratified by the States... As far as I can tell it's merely a barbarous tradition, except when it serves my interests.
The gun barrel has the last word under any form of governance.
Moar ammo! Obozo's BATFE end run failed and 1000 rounds of M855 can still be had for ~$350. When the time comes that will seem like the bargain of the century.
You, my friend, have mixed up Constitutionality and Legitimity.
Constitutionality simply means that the legal act has been brought in accordance with, i.e. it does not contradict the Constitution. Legitimity is the part that ensures the Constitution as well as other laws are brought in accordance with the People's will.
Remember: Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place... When law and morality contradict each other, the citizen has the cruel alternative of either losing his moral sense or losing his respect for the law. - F. Bastiat
Bastiat's The Law doesn't miss a beat. It is one of the most well reasoned cases for Individual Rights ever put to pen. But what can one do about it?
Here is another well known thinker presenting his thoughts at the signing of the Constitution during the first convention of states:
"...I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a general Government necessary for us, and there is no form of Government but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered, and believe farther that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in Despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other..." ~ Benjamin Franklin
Despotic Government has arrived. The people are so corrupted that the establishment of corruption has been constitutionalized. Constitutionalized not by the founders but by the followers.
Ben, his buddies, and his not-so-buddies left their followers a second chance to correct the corruption that they knew would naturally creep in. See Article V of the constituion.
Individual Rights amendment, anyone?
Trouble is, when you look out at Joe Public you realize that the biggest power government has is the fact that most believe that SCOTUS always rules in accordance with the Constitution and that they are steadfast in their lack of bias.
That's the TRULY scary bit!
.
Nobody said anything about liking SCOTUS decisions - just that you're not going to win any argument stating that what the SCOTUS says, isn't the final word on the matter.
Its not. Hence the means of redress, ie. The 2nd Amendment.
ObieCare
What is your unmistaken belief then?
See above.
The Constitution is the ultimate determination on whether something is Constitutional or not. The document is pretty clear unless you're trying to steal an individual's wealth or liberty with some absurd "interpretation".
be nice if the supreme court could understand the Constitution.
Be most pleasant if the Founders' followers new Article V existed let alone understand it.
Lordy, what does the Constitution say on corporations being "People"?
It says they are the same thing as a Union.
Here's an idea for a 'constitution'
I have no right to tell another human what to do if he is not harming anyone.
Same goes for me.
People mistakenly believe that SCOTUS rulings are the ultimate determination on whether something is Constitutional or not.
Yes but the SCOTUS does determine the rules the police enforce.
Wow. If this isn't a blantant Fuck You to the Boomers, I don't know what is.
How else to redistrubite the weath, while weakening the boarders & military, and getting votes from the poor brown people?
The money has to come from somewhere.
They see their roles as masters of the universe and as such cannot be emasculated by laws that stifle their actions. They have created money and will not rest until each and every dollar is circulating madly so that they may profit from its friction. Money resting in savings accounts creates little or no friction for them to profit when interest rates are zero..or below. They can't raise interests or the gov will go bust. We might think they could live well off of government bond interest, but governments can pay interest...they don't "earn" anything to pay with. They must make US pay, and when the expense is too high, the pyramid falls. The only thing they can do is pressure the money out of these accounts and back into the market place. FDR proposed (and was stopped) a retained earnings tax...a tax on savings, for the exact same reason. Stingy savers were seen as contributing to the depression.
You see, even though they are the masters of the universe, it is quiet obvious they have failed, failed terribly, but because they are the elite and naturally the smartest in the room, they see themselves as all we got. So, they will take their fucked up ideological economics claptrap and jamb it even further down our throat so that only when they see it protruding from our asses will they see themselves as successful.
They are burning down the house to kill the roaches. They will kill any semblance of a market economy to save it. We have watched this repeated for centuries, most spectacularly in Russia and China, where no madness was too extreme. Make the doctors farmers and the farmers doctors. Nothing is out of bounds when people who see themselves as superior are in charge.
Indeed. This could be interpreted as clarification of the message that corps underfunding their "funds" and the Wall Street "consultants" providing direction (orders for fees and kickbacks) need to cover their tracks well, including sensible bankruptcy plans. You gotta expect to pay something for stealing trillions of dollars from the bottom 95%. Or at least pretend.
No paper assets, including money, will survive the storm, imo.
Land is about it as an investment. And all the shit you need to maintain your lifestyle as you insist you should definitely buy ahead.
Yep spent all mine on women and booze ,then just pissed the rest away
fucking a. they shouldn't be able to buy hehdge funds or high load crap. fuck wall street.
This would be the one time that the current gov't follows constitution.
"Our track record was the best ever in the industry with the lowest drawn down perhaps in fund management."
Good ole Marty patting himself on the back yet again. Haha....no doubt.
Edit: Just looked that up and saw that Armstrong managed that fund for none other than Deutsche Bank.
We confiscated some folks' IRAs and 401Ks with a balance above $0.
Its not a confiscation. The government is trying to save us because we are so stupid we can't make our own decisions
it won't happen simply because it will start a widespread revolt. People who get screwed, won't pay taxes.
Yeah right. Who's going to revolt all the illegal aliens? Or maybe all the Joe six packs that are obsessed with football and porn? Or how about all the Baltimore rioters and ghetto birds? This isn't a nation of revolution, it's a nation of shit.
True enough ... for now.
weak
Big Concern- pay outs for Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (federal Trust Fund), 1999 = $1.23 Billion, 2000 = $1.35 Billion, 2001 =$1.37 Billion. Okay, but today 2010 = $5.59 B, 2011 = $5.89 B, 2012 = $5.86 B, 2013 = $5.89 B. There is a continual need to supplement Pensions. 2010 PBGC's deficit increased 4.5 percent to $23 billion (Liabilities beyond assets)
So every year PBGC is paying out $5 Billion at least and doesn't even have enough money budgeted for this.
Martin Armstrong is only telling part of the Story.
Perhaps Marty Armstrong is more of a Politician or Entertainer than I thought.
- But I don't want the government to take my money just because of a Supreme Court Action Either
- Lawyers & Judges are Corrupt
- BAR Association is Worthless
- BAR Association never corrects Lawyers, and never Defends the US Constitution from Damage
Attack the BAR Association & Put a Total Cap on Practicing Lawyers or Limit Law Practice to 6 Years Total in any US State.
Some businesses have been strangely favored over the past 40 years. Some even more than others, since they've all been favored over workers, the PBGC payouts notwithstanding. Private equity pirates like poster boy Mitt Romney have literally pocketed the funds that the PBGC has covered. Now it's all in tax exampt domiciles, free and clear. And the pirates are Heroes. Like hedge fund billionaires, almost.
Reminds me of Amazon. People can talk all the shit they want about Walmart, but look at Amazon. Their fundamental market advantage is they don't collect sales taxes. A good 6% of their profits have essentially come straight out of the budgets of state governments.
Big business is nothing more than a financial strip mining operation at this point.
These days "Investing" means you put money into something...anything... and getting back a whole bunch more! Now the government even says business have to make sure everyone wins. If everyone is winning then who is losing? The answer to that is YOUR CHILDREN!
Please, opt out of the fucking 401k bullshit, take your money out of the market and put it under your mattress or god forbid buy gold and silver.
We need to starve this beast NOW.
I hope you are talking about public pensions. Because then I really don't give a fuck.
As Carlin said "They want it ALL, and they won't stop until they get it."
Say Hello and Wave Goodbye!
Get real. Like they need justification.
"The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that a 1% point difference on a current account balance of $25,000 will reduce total accumulations by 28% over 35 years, assuming average returns of 7% and no further contributions."
7%??? SINCE WHEN?? LOL
Expanding on your point, I think it is pretty clear that QE and ZIRP were designed to force pension plans to alter their investment allocations to include fewer bonds and more common stock. Fiduciary investing is governed by a "prudent man" rule that would generally discourage investment in risk assets for fear of being held personally accountable for any losses. But just about all actuarial calculations advising the employers, workers, and plan administrators whether or not their plans are fully funded require an assumption of the annual future rate of return on the funds currently invested, and historically, that would be about 6%. The sanctions for being woefully underfunded are to be avoided at just about any cost. When QE and ZIRP began, a lot of pension money was invested in older bonds with long maturity dates, so the hit on the actual annual rate of return was not immediately readily apparent, but as those bonds matured, they then had to be replaced with lower yielding ones, and the only way to possibly reach a 6% rate of return was to place a higher percentage of the money into stocks.
I have to think by now that everybody knows the Big Crash is coming, and I nominate this pension money for the role of Leading Bagholder when the shit hit the fan.
So there is no need to fear government confiscation, because most of that money will be gone already, courtesy of the Fed and their masters.
He has to be talking about non-contributory plans, which companies are free to do with what they may.
A different story with contributory ones.
I saw GM and Raytheon buy HUGHES with the intent of raiding the pension fund and those plans were nixed because of the contributory basis.
I sincerely cannot wait for the day this happens and you suddenly have Millions of people finally waking up to whats been going on....and all too late to do anything about it.
The day those glasses finally come off will be interesting to say the least.
Because after years of the condescending "Oh they can't/won't do that..." sheeple arguments I've heard as to the "sanctity" and "trust" in our elected officials...It'll be like a Cold Beer on a Hot day to me to see all those chickens with their heads cut off scurrying about clucking...
Cluck Cluck Mo-Fo's......
Not this "chick". :-)
But Sinclair Lewis said It Can't Happen Here!
So here's the actual justification, and it's on firm ground. Congress created pensions that gave certain tax advantages to companies and participants in return for regulation for those who take part. You can always store money in taxable accounts, but when you make a deal with the devil, the devil may do his will.
They can easily mandate, therefore, that you must invest in USG securities, for example.
Wait! There's corruption at Tammany Hall?
The firemen and teachers should arrest Lloyd Blankfein and Jamie Dimon. Pretty sure the banksters aren't going to militarize the teachers.
Our Finance Minister Joe 'early onset dementia' Oliver just announced that the Government of CANADA is now changing their tune with regard to pensions and wants all Canadians to opt into increased Canada Pension Plan CPP contributions so they can beef up our collective pension Ponzi scheme for raiding on down the road. Joe comes directly from Goldman Sachs, as does Mark Carney, the other American STOOGE from gubberment sachs does. It seems Gubberment Sachs is just about at the end of the road when it comes to Greece, the UK, Germany, EU, et cetera.
What is most evident is that they are all preparing for a bail-in for the Too-BIG-to-FAIL, NAIL, or JAIL, BanksterGangsterPonziMafiaCartel we call USA Inc.
All I had to do was glance at the Supreme Court Opionion to know this wa not a very rational argument for confiscation and the author's clear lack of knowledge about breaches of fiduciary duty. Giant leaps to conclusions that are not based in logic!
Reading an article like this makes me realize, again, what an obtuse loon Martin Armstrong is. Shame that ZH gives him space.
Yes, but at least we now know that the re-education camp priniciple is a sound one.
Now that's a good one! LMAO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX7wtNOkuHo
Fearmongering bullshit. That's not what this opinion says.
Another "feed me Seymour" moment for the gubbermint to feed the continuing Wall St. Ponzi Casino. It has gotten so big and has a such a ravenous appetite, that it has to be fed, or collapse of its own weight.
The pension funds are the only thing left for them to steal...to satiate the monster, they themselves and the FED have created.
Burn it , and use the government hacks as fire starter.
Queer isnt it? When you finally realise what the child raping bastard cunts have done to you over the course of your life, who you voted in of course to give it some fucking semblence of democracy, have done to you over the course of an entire lifetime, and then offer you another fucking 'Bush' or fucking 'Clinton', and expect you lot to just accept thats the way it is...
Fucking queer that aint it? Then folks wonder why folks like me withdraw total and utter 'Consent'?
These fucking monsters, just like you lot I suppose do not speak, think, talk, or mother fucking represent anything I as a human being have in common with you, no matter who you are.
I do not say this lightly, and with a heavy heart after the rigged elections here just gone, these 'Things' cos they aint fucking human need exterminating, doesnt matter where you live my friends, these fucking in-human fucking minions need destroyed.
And that aint no fucking joke.
:-)
If what is stated or attempted above in the article happens you'll see revolt at the worst and at the least you'll see massive exodus from the workforce via disablity and most of it will fall on the govt's dime.
Constitution 101
A document of convenience: (a) when the issue before any federal or state court is associated with a crooked politician, member of a street gang, Mafia or feudalist (communist, socialist et cetera) party, or a person accused of violent crime against person or property, the Constitution will be strictly observed. (b) if, on the other hand, the issue pertains to a challenge to taxes, regulations or rule by terror, the Constitution and all rights and procedures of due process will be dis-regarded to the extent necessary to silence anyone who raises said issues.
Of course, I wasn’t the first to suffer under this “101” policy.
Interesting link.
A redress of grievances per amendment one could be enumerated, discussed, and implemented per Article V.
http://www.conventionofstates.com/
It's not a government it's called a coventment!
J. Corzine, new WH Pension Czar (this is not true, just an absurdity that could come true)
The cognitive dissonance is deafening on this site.
If you don't support the fed gov -then why support the document that constitutes it?
The cognitive dissonance is deafening on this site.
If you don't support the fed gov -then why support the document that constitutes it?