It has become crystal clear over the last decade, that two of the Republican's shortcomings are unquestionably national security and the rudimentary subject of "American History", both of which are certainly not the Republican's strong suit, but are they really that far detached from the reality of every day fundamental financial matters to the point of complete ignorance regarding the latest and greatest "Private" individual savings vehicles such as the Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Fixed Annuity, Variable Annuity. 401 K Plan, etc.? Perhaps the thick layer of personal accountants required and hired by the average Republican to sort out and reconcile multi million and billion dollar financial matters is a little too thick to be visually penetrated? An obstructed view of reality caused by monumental stacks and stacks of hundred dollar bills attained by taking advantage of overly generous, immoral, and borderline illegal loopholes in tax law that undoubtedly favor the wealthiest citizens? It's really not surprising at all and certainly par for the course as usual -
For the benefit of all Republicans, you are invited to read the following to get up to speed. At present, there are a whole host of "Private Retirement Plans" that I can think of just off the top of my cranium that are already in existence and have been for decades. "Privatized Savings Accounts" the haunting republican mantra, in which individuals and can make voluntary contributions up to a specified limit, and just like social security, the funds cannot be accessed or withdrawn prior to age 59 1/2. If a withdrawal is made prior to vesting, the owner is subject to a rather substantial penalty that can reach the 30% threshold. So what's the Republican's big rush and push to squeeze in one more privatized savings option like Social Security that we really don't need? Why is the GOP so adamant about taking Social Security, one of the most successful Federally sponsored programs in our nations history, and strip away the consumer protection "No Risk" element, eliminate the convenient automatic contribution mechanism, and simply convert it over to another extremely volatile stock market participation vehicle?
These risky options are already available by the truck load and every expert on the subject agrees there is absolutely nothing for current or future retirees to gain by privatizing social security. However, on the flip side, there is one demographic that would benefit to the point of ad nauseam. "Wall Street Execs" will undoubtedly reap the ultimate harvest by raking in astronomical transaction and management fees if Republicans manage to get there way -
A huge bounty to be had by Wall Street if indeed these shrewd opportunists were allowed to divert trillions in social security assets designed for senior years which is currently sitting in a risk free federal government account earning a modest, no risk return. A sudden re-direction of substantial assets into third party brokerage accounts on Wall Street and their proxies to be allocated into non FDIC Insured investments, which is exactly what will happen if privatization of Social Security is adopted, is unquestionably a recipe for disaster. For the majority of hard working Americans of course, not necessarily wall Street Tycoons -
For the Republican Party's immediate consideration, here is just a partial list of currently available "Private Retirement Account" options. Do we really need to "Privatize" Social Security or is the persistent "Republican Mantra" just another ploy to once again monetize and reap untold financial benefits on the backs of hard working Americans?
- PRIVATE RETIREMENT ACCOUNT - Traditional IRA - A private individual savings plan that can be established by simply visiting your bank or alternative financial institution and setting up the account with a representative. It even provides the depositor with "Rights of Survivorship" by merely adding a beneficiary(s). Risk and product line ranges from FDIC Insured, which means your deposit is backed by the "Full Faith & Credit of the United States Government", all the way to the opposite end of the spectrum including extremely high risk international or emerging market stock investments, and just about everything in between -
- PRIVATE RETIREMENT ACCOUNT - Roth IRA - Same basic principle as the Traditional IRA except withdrawal rules are more liberal. Same risk factors as well -
- PRIVATE RETIREMENT ACCOUNT - Fixed Annuity - Essentially, a deposit with an insurance company as opposed to a bank, mutual fund, or brokerage firm The account principle and interest accrued is guaranteed by the issuing company and NOT FDIC Insured, which means there is inherent risk involved. If the company remains solvent during your investment period chances are, you will be paid all accrued interest in addition to the entire principle amount invested. This distribution traditionally can be received in either a one lump sum or, incremental payments -
- PRIVATE RETIREMENT ACCOUNT - Variable Annuity - Same basic principle as the "Fixed Annuity" with one main difference. A variable annuity account is invested in securities that are either components of major stock indices or, deposited in a basket of equities in which the strategy implemented is to either "Mirror" or exceed performance results of a particular stock index. Some contracts guarantee the principle amount even if the underlying stocks under perform however, always read the fine print to ensure the legitimacy of these claims -
- PRIVATE RETIREMENT ACCOUNT - 401 K Plan - An employee sponsored voluntary retirement savings account in which a worker has a designated amount automatically deducted from a paycheck and deposited in a third party trust account for future access. A complete menu of investment choices are available to the participant including stock funds, bond funds, or a combination of both. Conservative to very risky options can be applied by either contacting the participating trust company to authorize and deposit funds into your investment selections, or, a client can simply log on to the Internet and navigate to the respective web page to make manual adjustments without the assistance of a third party -
After taking a brief look at all the existing "Private Retirement Savings Plans" currently available through traditional banks, insurance companies, and or brokerage firms, why on gods good green earth is there a massive push by the Republicans for overkill regarding this issue? Simply visit a local bank and you will find an extensive menu of private savings accounts from which to choose that are designed exclusively for retirement? So why are the Republicans so anxious to dismantle a safe, proven, convenient, way for hard working Americans to save money in an account that is guaranteed by the Full Faith & Credit of the Untied States Government?
Unquestionably, one motivation is the following. If individuals do not have automatic deductions taken from weekly or bi-weekly paychecks and deposited into an FDIC account for retirement, they will ultimately be faced with tough choices regarding where to invest their money. Some would get discouraged due to lack of financial knowledge or possibly even time constraints and just end up not saving at all, and the rest would be forced to seek advise from Republican cronies on Wall Street such as the much admired Stock Broker, which of course equates to billions upon billions in commission fees paid for said advise resulting in millions upon millions in donations to the Republican Party -
It doesn't really take much effort or due diligence to expose the Republicans true ulterior motives for attempting to tear down one of the most efficient and popular retirement income programs in the history of this great nation. Right now, with the current social security program in place, unfortunately for Wall Street Tycoons, Corporate America, and shrewd Opportunists like Mitt Romney, there is "Zero" third party profit to be made from the existing social security trust fund. The money flows from employee pay checks directly into a safe, secure, FDIC insured savings account which sits idle in zero risk, moderate return treasury bills, notes, and bonds, which are guaranteed by the Full Faith & Credit of the U.S., until drawn upon by hard working retirees. The funds are now isolated from the Mitt Romneys and Rick Perrys of the world who would if given the chance, take these funds and hand them over to all the devoted cronies who now finance their election campaigns, to be used for high risk bets in the stock market -
- Custom Photography by A. P. -
