How crazy is the idea of personal retirement accounts like 401ks and RSSPs being confiscated by increasingly cash-strapped governments?
Not cray-cray at all. In fact, it's likely and they've already
started making noises about it.
This is not a good development at all. For people like me who are good with their money, I don't need 'economic policy experts' or politicians or any other member of an elite telling me how I should manage my money.
Indeed, it may not even stop there. They may even force you to invest in certain types of 'safe' investments like money markets, GICs and T-bills 'for your own good'.
It's a slow hostile take over of your money.
And
you will have let it happen because
you believe in the dubious notion bureaucrats will take care of you 'cradle to crave' under a system of depressed mediocrity. All because you were too lazy, disinterested or fearful of doing it yourself.
You know, one of the key virtues we used to be taught was the idea of self-reliance. Know how to do basic stuff. Like change a tire, cook, handle a rifle or shot gun, fish and hunt, etc. It shouldn't be any different with money. People need to seize control of their finances.
Yet, it seems like while the concept of self-reliance is sometimes espoused the actions of government tell a different story. To me it comes off as 'yeah, you *should* know how to do it but in the meantime take some of this to *help* you' whenever I hear politicians speaks.
I personally don't think they have our best interest in mind and if they do they have a grotesque view on how to achieve ways to help people. This is why I don't accept politicians takes on finance. It's too intensely personal and all they know how to do is direct a one-size fits all scheme.
When will people understand that if they abdicate their responsibilit and willingly hand off that task to bureaucrats they're in effect entering a situation not unlike the one we witnessed under Bernie Madoff? The government can't possibly ensure we save for retirement adequately on any level with any certainty. They are just too many variables and factors involved. They could provide some ways, sure, like an RRSP but the idea of going beyond voluntary action is fast becoming a reality.
The concept of 'social security' and 'pensions' is indeed an important one. However, the way they calculate future amounts has proven to be flawed because of something called human nature. That is, it's magnificent penchant for unpredictability.
In my older age, I've come to the conclusion trying to predict future values is an absurd guessing game not unlike sports gambling. Lotsa educated guessing and some may even be good at it but overall, it's a fool's game.
It's often based on figures and trends that assume too many factors when it comes to human activity (littered with virtues and vices) that threaten to destroy any structured scheme devised through something called entropy. For example, in the case of government security of any kind, they didn't foresee people living longer or the worker to retiree ratio dwindling.
Always remember, these values are based on actuarial premises that while sometimes accurate are just as vulnerable to mistakes.
Government managed pension plans, we now know, are in effect bankrupt and it's alarming how many people out there don't seem to grasp the basic math of this problem.
As far as I can see, the only real solution is to grandfather in a group of people (let the Baby Boomers finish their Anaconda-like digestion) offer a couple of options to another (e.g. Millennials and Gen X) and tell future generations 'You're on your own. Save your fucken money and stop asking for free shit.'
As for company pension plans, again, pension plans sink governments and it's no different with business. The sole function of a business is to give a job to people and pay them a salary/commission for their services based on their perceived/concrete market value. That's it. I know. Not part of the narrative but it's the truth. Business is not there to sooth your soul, make you chicken soup and ensure you get that vegan lunch item while you exercise your right pray to Gaia at 3pm because you're special.
I know. I'm being mean but let's get back down to the basics and understand what's expected of each other. Company A needs a worker. Worker shows up. They agree to terms. Company pays worker. Worker then uses money to live. End of the equation.
Nobody should be getting stuck in between this sacred voluntary activity. Ah. But they do and it's called the coercive action of government. And this is where we end up in all sorts of expensive, regulatory, and arbitrary messes.
A corporation or business is not a babysitter and forcing people to save their money is a form of nannyism or enabling. I can't stress this enough. If and only if a company feels it's justified to offer more all the more power to them and its employees. But to force one and all into social benefits schemes is in fact part of the problem.
The number one objective of a business is not to make the precious snow flake is not micro-aggressed or to sell a fucken cake to a client it chooses not to sell to.
It's priority is to
grow and earn profits to ensure its survival. Everything flows from this and when government gets involved they get in the way of this objective making it harder and harder to achieve.
This is the key to everything.
And so it is with people's money. Money is
yours. Why in the world would you hand over part of it to a bureaucracy and technocracy of enablers? Because you will get that 'free' MRI nine months after you need it? Aren't you better off taking a small amount off each pay and sinking it into an account to pay for an MRI out of pocket within two weeks? Isn't this true respect for your health both physically and mentally?
But T.C. the system is rigged! The 1% are taking all the wealth because I can't make ends meet!
You're an idiot if you believe all that populist bull shit.
The reason why you feel *poorer* is because of all the fucken taxes you pay from high sales taxes, to taxes on goods and services, carbon taxes, gas taxes and so on.
Add it all up on top of your income taxes. THAT'S WHY YOU FEEL POOR. Not because the fucken Koch brothers are magically stealing money from your pay check in some sort of undefined scheme to rape us.
Grow up.
Taxes kill. And when you have less in your pocket you dip into debt to pay for things. And now you enter the nether-regions of high interest - the cost of borrowing money.
Now you're in a death-spiral.
But again, this has nothing to do with 1% rich people.
Let me repeat. You're a retard if you believe this.
The truth is the concept of saving is all but dead in North America and in some cases I've read people (like Paul Krugman and other unsavory progressives) actually argue it's a 'bad' thing.
It's ludicrous to chastise someone for being responsible enough to save money for a rainy day. To dismiss, the
power of saving as something as money 'just sitting there doing nothing' is typical of a one-dimensional mind set with a retarded understanding of finance and how you can make your income turn into wealth.
This takes a certain amount of abstract thinking to fully grasp how income becomes wealth. Not to mention how schemes like, for instance, minimum wage laws actually negatively impact the job market and the ability for businesses to manage money. Look at it this way, by imposing a government perception on business that operates ostensibly in a free market you're asking that business to make adjustments they otherwise would not engage in. It's an unnatural impact no matter how you convince yourself it's for 'the good of all'.
I have my reservations it's about that in any event. Government forcing a bakery to make a cake for a gay couple against its wishes and fining them for not doing so has nothing to do with justice or creating a "fair" economic system in my view. The second the government gets involved one side will benefit while the other will not. But I digress.
You need to build a savings nest for many reasons from getting credit, for paying for an unforeseen event to taking advantage of opportunities that may arise like buying rental income property.
Savings is freedom.
Getting free shit from the government, on the other hand, is slavery on two fronts.
You're slaves to their kinky promises and you end up paying for it on the back-end through taxes.
You don't realize it but in addition to the Visa or Mastercard, you're in perpetual debt - through taxes - to the government.
Hello.
Reclaim your liberty. And there's no better way to do that than seizing control of how you manage your money.
Which is why I advocate a basic financial course on money matters not in high school but starting in elementary schools.
Repeat after me: Saving is freedom. Debt is slavery.
