Pension Reform? Or a Criminal Racket?

Max Keiser does a good job in these videos directing attention away from the idea that protests in Europe need to be viewed through the perspective of pension reform actually being needed to make the retirement age appropriate for the present day.

He points out that pension accounts, including Social Security in the U.S., are used in various schemes around the world as collateral for corporations and the government to borrow hundreds of billions and trillions of dollars that they have effectively lost making speculative bets on financial transactions that have gone bust. Additionally, bankers are penalizing savers by giving 0% interest payments to savers while speculators get all the money they want at near 0% interest rates. Pension fund managers are beholden to the investment banks. The rating agencies and accounting firms have been implicated in racketeering.

I know that the Social Security fund has been raided to pay for other government spending, but I'm not sure what Max is talking about if he's saying that Social Security has been used as collateral for speculation in the derivatives market...

reply to post by Mary Rose

hi mary rose
i have not watched the videos but i kind
of get the jist. max talks a good talk especially on the
subjects europe and america shy away from. with regards to
pensions reform, i would hazard a guess that only those working
in the military industrial corporations and public sector workers
will see anything when they eventually retire. everyone elses
is in the lap of the gods. in the uk there have been many companies
that have folded with pension obligations resulting in thousands of
former employees reduced to living on the basic state handout. it will
be interesting to hear what comes out in the coalition spending review
this week. the cuts across the board will be horrific and it has been
noted that the uk population is totally unprepared for what is round the
corner. for anyone maxed-out (no pun intended!) on their credit cards or
living on the edge of their means is in for one hell of a rough ride.
up north in the uk there are ten unemployed for every one job available
and the coalition sees fit to move a good percentage of genuine sickness
claimants onto jobseekers allowance. a private company was draughted in to
assess claimants of sickness benefits which saw almost 85% fail the initial
assessment. they were then informed that they would be transferred to jobseekers
allowance or they could appeal the decision. i know a number of people who failed
the criteria and curiosity got the better of me. this system infuriated me that much
i was waiting to attend an appeal to stand as a witness on behalf of a claimant as
to their physical state. 4 months later the claimant received a letter from the appeals
court stating there was no need to attend the hearing as they had found in their favour.
while this was ongoing the claimant was given a reduced allowance and struggled with
everyday costs and bills.
when the economy is thriving the government does not give a toss about the disabled.
when they have fubar(ed) they underhandedly demonise the vunerable by implying that they
are all scroungers. i will also state that there are people out there who are taking
the urine and know the system inside out. to me those persons who abuse the system
initially designed for the genuine needy are no better than those at the top
who seek to stigmatise the vunerable.the way things are going by the time (if)i reach
pension age the uk will be more akin to stasi controlled east germany in the seventies.
it is unfortunate to think that at one time i held roughly half a dozen politicians in high
regard only to see them whimper when faced with the juggernauts that are the corporations
who threatened to leave the shores and set up abroad to increase profits. i would have said stuff you all,
if you want to do business here you pay the same as everybody else. i suppose it was
inevitable that it would turn out the way it has. it is the banks and corporations who run the uk
and not the politicians. they are simply window dressers who are given the remit of public relations.
regards fakedirt

I've come across a website called Politics4All that offers candidates and citizens a platform to connect. One of the bloggers, a citizen named Mike Davis from the state of Tennessee, has written a good article entitled "Is the US government taking over our private pension plans?"

In it, he quotes Bob Chapman:

“There is no question that those who control our government from behind the scenes are bound and determined to take over the $6 trillion in private pension plans. Whether they’ll be successful remains to be seen. The Department of Labor wants to force all IRAs and 401ks into the arms of a corporate fascist government, that knows (best what’s) good for you.”

This Bob Chapman quote is included in this video offering the suggestion that people consider taking their money out of their 401K and investing in gold or silver:



I see that this YouTuber links to the Silver Saver website. I don't know whether this website is profit-generating for him or not.

But regardless, I think we all need to be educating ourselves about what the government is going to do next to take our money.

Here in the US our social security plan has failed. It was started with good intentions but did not take into consideration that we would be living much longer. Those who retired 20 years ago were rewarded with huge benifits. Factory workers became millionairs. Those who will retire in 20 years will get near nothing. Things will cost 5 times what they do now. I was promised a retirement age of 55 but it will be changed to 75. My goverment gave me 20 years of indentured servitude just for trying to help the system. The previous generation has robbed us blind. Not one person in the entire country has demonstrated against this theft. We are sheep. We are sure our voice cannot change things. We will retire someday, and starve.

reply to post by earthdude


Somehow we need to take control of our government, change the monetary system, and then start the long process of rebuilding our economy.

The thread Monetary Reform Act shows a plan for changing our monetary system.