the Government’s Crosshairs? We can hope that this never happens. But it’s far better to be prepared. Right now, there’s
U.K. (2010), Portugal (2011), and Poland (2013). In each of these countries – and many others – the government nationalized and/ or confiscated pension assets, and individuals and investors were disadvantaged by bureaucrats under the dense fog cover of the greater good. As a significant portion of retirement funds are invested in stocks and other assets, the nationalization of these assets would dramatically increase the government’s role in, and control over, the corporate world. And it’s not just “over there”... It’s happened in the U.S. before, too. From Executive Order 6102, signed on April 5, 1933: "I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do declare that said national emergency still continues to exist and... hereby prohibit the hoarding of gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates... All persons are hereby required to deliver... to a Federal Reserve bank or a branch or agency thereof or to any member bank of the Federal Reserve System all gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates now owned by them." That wasn’t outright confiscation. Gold was swapped for fiat currency (which was soon thereafter devalued). Every American was allowed to keep the equivalent of $100 in gold. But whatever the qualifiers, the
still time to put a Plan Z in place. It’s not clear exactly how the dollar’s
dominance will end, or what comes next. But if history rhymes, the chances are good that for our children, the greenback won’t be the global financial traffic-stopper that it is today. And then, Uncle Sam’s seemingly endless borrowing extravaganza will crash to a halt. Short of a debt jubilee of Biblical proportions – or a wholesale repudiation and default of the U.S. government on its debt, which would reduce the global financial infrastructure to a smoldering dumpster fire – the American government would have to do what everyone else on earth must eventually do: make ends meet. Americans’ retirement assets are potentially more than just a source of cash – to be used for debt repayment, or whatever else the politicians of the moment feel like spending it on – for the U.S. government. As a significant portion of retirement funds are invested in stocks and other assets, the nationalization of these assets would dramatically increase the government’s role in, and control over, the corporate world. But wait, you might say... back up. The American government can’t just take your 401(k) and your IRA. It’s your hard-earned wealth, held in your name. Laws protect you. The government can’t just barge in and take what’s yours. Right? That’s what people thought in Argentina (2008), Ireland (2009), Hungary and the
American Consequences
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