Good Intentions

Democrats in the House are thinking over killing 401K's and replacing it with a government system.

James Pethokoukis at US News and World Report writes:

House Democrats recently invited Teresa Ghilarducci, a professor at the New School of Social Research, to testify before a subcommittee on her idea to eliminate the preferential tax treatment of the popular retirement plans. In place of 401(k) plans, she would have workers transfer their dough into government-created "guaranteed retirement accounts" for every worker. The government would deposit $600 (inflation indexed) every year into the GRAs. Each worker would also have to save 5 percent of pay into the accounts, to which the government would pay a measly 3 percent return. Rep. Jim McDermott, a Democrat from Washington and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, said that since "the savings rate isn't going up for the investment of $80 billion [in 401(k) tax breaks], we have to start to think about whether or not we want to continue to invest that $80 billion for a policy that's not generating what we now say it should."

So instead of allowing people to choose how their Social Security dollars are invested, the Democratic left wants to take our private investments and nationalize them.

Where does it end?

Here's another of example of what we have in store for us with an Obama victory. We can expect to see the revival of the fairness doctrine. No longer will the free market decide what should be broadcast over the airwaves. Rather, we'll have someone or some committee within the halls of Congress responsible for deciding what "fairness" is. Add another brick to the road to hell.