A key labor union ally of the Obama administration has mounted an effort
to create government-mandated worker retirement accounts as an
entitlement program, with the possibility that a portion of all private
retirement funds could be forced into U.S. Treasury debt.
Branding the program "Retirement
USA," the Service Employee International Union, or SEIU, has joined
with the AFL-CIO, the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington-based
economic left-leaning think tank that receives substantial labor funding
and two other left-leaning interest groups, the Pension Rights Center
and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security.
Retirement USA promotes the concept that all workers in the U.S.
have a right to a government account that would fund a secure retirement
in addition to Social Security and private workplace programs such as
the 401(k).
"Our goal is to involve all workers and all employees in a
government-mandated retirement program, with the government putting up
the difference for lower-paid employees," Nancy Hwa, a spokewoman for
the participating Pension Rights
Center, told WND.
Retirement USA would require by law employers and employees to
contribute to a retirement account for every employee and demand that a
portion of that contribution go into a federal-government-created
annuity that would be funded by purchasing Treasury debt.
"Retirement USA is basically an effort that amounts to
nationalizing 401(k)s and IRAs," David John, a senior research fellow at
the Heritage
Foundation told WND. read more>>>>>>>>>
