In case you missed it (– I know I did!) last week the Polish government raided private pension funds in the name of reducing public debt; Poland Confiscates Half Of Private Pension Funds To “Cut” Sovereign Debt Load. As Zero Hedge reported;

While the world was glued to the developments in the Mediterranean in the past week, Poland took a page straight out of Rahm Emanuel’s playbook and in order to not let a crisis go to waste, announced quietly that it would transfer to the state – i.e., confiscate – the bulk of assets owned by the country’s private pension funds (many of them owned by such foreign firms as PIMCO parent Allianz, AXA, Generali, ING and Aviva), without offering any compensation. In effect, the state just nationalized roughly half of the private sector pension fund assets, although it had a more politically correct name for it: pension overhaul.

 
Ann Barnhardt does a great job of explaining what it all means and – even scarier – compares Poland’s financial picture with our present situation (Hint – it ain’t pretty); On Poland and Detroit. Not For the Faint of Heart ~

Poland has a “debt ceiling” that prevents it from issuing debt over 55% of GDP. By confiscating and stealing (“nationalizing”) the Polish citizens’ private pension money, they are now booking that money as a straight-up cash asset on the government’s balance sheet, thus “freeing up room” against the GDP-to-debt threshold so that the Polish government can … issue more debt and spend, spend, spend.
 
Now here’s the terrifying part. The US debt-to-GDP ratio is over 100%. $15.5 Trillion dollar economy; $16.0+ Trillion in debt. The day Obama usurped in January 2009, that ratio was 70% or so. This massive increase in debt is 100% intentional, being executed will full malice of forethought, and is called the “Cloward-Piven Strategy”.

 
And in case you still think it’ll never happen here…
 
 

The feds have been testing the waters – so to speak – on this very same thing, for years now. Remember this?

Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, testified before Congress last month (Oct. ’08), proposing that 401(k)s and IRAs be confiscated and converted into universal Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRAs) managed by the Social Security Administration.

 
An interesting post from last November at Sword At-The-Ready links to several different sources, all warning about the government’s plans (The drumbeat’s getting louder); Obama to Nationalize & Confiscate Nation’s 401ks & Retirement Accounts ~

As far-fetched as this idea is, five years ago, socialized healthcare in America was considered laughable. If one takes a moment to review how nationalizing all of the retirement programs could cure several problems at once, it becomes a logical and potentially nightmarish scenario:
 
1. Cures the solvency issues of major financial institutions.
2. Provides the illusion of solvency for the Social Security program.
3. Gives American citizens the false perception that they will have a solvent and safe retirement vehicle with no taxation or management concerns as the government takes care of everything.

 
The low-information voters are sure to buy it; that’s pretty much how the Polish government is selling it… “safety” ~

“We believe that, apart from the positive consequence of this decision for public debt, pensions will also be safer.”

– Prime Minister Donald Tusk

 
You see, he is from the government, and he is confiscating the pensions to make them safer. Confiscation is Safety and all that…

[Source: Zero Hedge]

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Barnhardt and “Sword” both sound rather apocalyptic (they advise closing your personal retirement accounts entirely – and Sword actually recommends leaving the country!), but considering the out-of-control administration we’re stuck with for three more years, the future isn’t looking too rosy is it?
 
The very fact that Poland’s government can (unconstitutionally!) take over one half of their citizens’ private pension funds and it barely elicits a yawn over here – where all the media can focus on is the disinformation campaign that is Syria at the moment – is extremely unsettling. Considering their complete lack of interest in this story, we can expect the fourth estate to fully support federal confiscation of our own retirement accounts.
 
I’m betting if the Democrats take over the House in 2014 this is a done deal. Heck, with the French Republicans we’ve got there now, it’ll probably happen anyway.

 
Related:
Now Obama wants your 401(k) ~ Jerome Corsi @ WorldNetDaily
Big Government’s Next Takeover? Your Retirement