As many union pension funds have tanked and entered the "critical status" (view 2009 critical pension list here), union bosses have come up with a new scheme and are creating a 'national dialogue' [read: propaganda campaign] to encourage discussion toward developing a "new" [read: nationalized] retirement system in the U.S.
While this originally surfaced toward the tail end of last year, there seems to be some growing momentum to this effort.
Indeed, a union-backed group calling itself Retirement USA is holding a conference today to discuss this very topic--nationalizing retirement.
Retirement USA is another friendly-sounding, wolf-in-sheep's clothing consortium of unions (including the AFL-CIO and SEIU) and union-funded groups. Their tagline is: Working for a Universal, Secure and Adequate Retirement System.
As the SEIU's Steve Abrecht who is the union's Director of Benefits and Capital Stewardship explains, their core principles are:
- Every worker should be covered by a retirement plan, in addition to Social Security.
- The system needs to be as secure as we can make it. We all understand the multiple
risks associated with long-term work life, investment horizons and retirement horizons.
The system needs to provide employers and employees ways to manage the risks within
acceptable limits. - Finally everyone should be able to have an adequate retirement income after a lifetime
of work. So that when paired with Social Security, an average worker will have sufficient income to match around 70% of pre-retirement income.
Their solution, according to this press report, is to create "a new retirement system which would include social security and current plans."
Hold on to your proverbial wallets because, even though union bosses make the claim they are not endorsing any particular system, you can be rest assured that they are aiming for a redistribution of assets. And, like Argentina did, they may very well be looking to seize your 401[k] and your pension too.
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