Beware of Obama’s new scam, the MyRA

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Dr. Eowyn

l to r: POS; Jack Lew’s signature; Treasury Secretary Jack Lew

Last Tuesday, during his “I’m king” State of the disUnion address, the POS introduced a new government scam called the MyRA (My Retirement Account).
If you approve of how the feral government has squandered away your Social Security contributions — the SS “trust fund” is just an accounting fiction because the government raids that “fund” for its spending and still manages to run a deficit — then you’ll want to invest in this MyRA scam. Snark.

This is how Treasury Secretary Jacob “Jack” Lew — he whose childish loopy-loop signature inspires such confidence [snark] — describes the MyRA in his op-ed of Jan. 30, 2014:
You will be able to start saving with an initial deposit of as little as $25 and contribute as little as $5 each payday. If an employer chooses to participate, contributions are made through automatic payroll deductions, making them hassle-free.
There are no fees – 100 percent of any contribution goes into the account and is invested in a Treasury security. That means it will be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, will earn the same interest rate that is available to federal employees for their retirement savings, and the balance will never go down.
Finally, myRA is not tied to any one employer – it belongs to the worker, not the workplace.
In other words, the account is portable and can be easily rolled into a Roth IRA. And if myRA savers ever need to, they can withdraw their contributions tax-free, at any time.
Let’s see, the MyRA:

1. Has no administrative fees.
2. Is portable, not tied to any one employer.
3. Earns interest.
4. No mention of whether the interest accrued on your MyRA is taxable.

But the U.S. government already provides incentives for Americans to save for our retirement. It’s called an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), which:

1. Has no administrative fees, if your IRA is in the form of a bank Certificate of Deposit (CD).
2. Is portable, being owned by you instead of a pension plan tied to your employer.
3. Earns interest.
4. The interest accrued on your IRA is tax-deferred, i.e., not taxable, until you start withdrawing from your IRA account(s) at the mandatory withdrawal age of 70½.

By now you should be asking this question:

If there’s already IRA, why is there a need for a duplicate called MyRA?

The answer lies in these 6 words in Lew’s op-ed:

“is invested in a Treasury security”

In other words, the MyRA is yet another way — like Social Security and Medicare — for the feral government to get their filthy hands on your money.
In other words, MyRA, like Social Security, is another Ponzi scheme.
Simon Black of Sovereign Man writes:
[T]he aim is simple– dupe unwitting Americans to plow their retirement savings into the US government’s shrinking coffers.
The government is flat broke. Even by their own assessment, the US government’s “net worth” is NEGATIVE 16 trillion. That’s as of the end of 2012 (the 2013 numbers aren’t out yet). But the trend is actually worsening.
In 2009, the government’s net worth was negative $11.45 trillion. By 2010, it had dropped to minus $13.47 trillion. By 2011, minus $14.78 trillion. And by 2012, minus $16.1 trillion.
Here’s the thing: according to the IRS, there is well over $5 trillion in US individual retirement accounts. For a government as bankrupt as Uncle Sam is, $5 trillion is irresistible.
They need that money. They need YOUR money. And this MyRA program is the critical first step to corralling your hard earned retirement funds.
See also:

• “Does Obama’s 2014 Budget nationalize retirement accounts?,” Oct. 3, 2013.
• “Obama takes first shot at retirement IRAs,” April 8, 2013.
• “How bankrupt govt steals your money in 8 steps,” April 3, 2013.

~Eowyn

 Dr. Eowyn is the Editor of Fellowship of the Minds.