One feature of the past 20 years is the ongoing attempt by Generation Greed to convince, or force, today's youth not to be the kind of irresponsible jerks they themselves had been when younger (and in some ways still are while in charge or our institutions). I live in a city where a retiree health insurance fund has been raided to get through a recession, and some pols want it raided more now that the recession is over. I live in a state where localities outside New York City have been encouraged to shirk making required contributions to the public employee pension funds, borrowing against them instead. I live in a country that collected additional regressive payroll taxes from workers for nearly 30 years to "Save Social Security" for younger generations, then blew the added funds on older generations' tax cuts and health spending, leaving behind IOUs. That country is now borrowing from federal pension funds to pay the bills.
I was shocked to find out, in the wake of the housing bubble, that many Americans were running their personal finances just like our governments, perhaps based on the same values. And now, some pols are proposing this.
"Workers will be limited in tapping their 401(k) retirement plans for loans under legislation two senators plan to introduce today that’s designed to counter the erosion of retirement assets." “During these difficult economic times, we are increasingly seeing 401(k) funds being treated as rainy day funds,” Senator Herb Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat, said in a statement obtained by Bloomberg News. “A 401(k) savings account should not be used as a piggy bank for revolving loans.” A Republican is a co-sponsor.
I can't argue with the logic. How about applying it to the government?