Yet another government has joined the ever-growing list of those stealing their citizens’ super to plug holes in their budgets:
Portugal has raided €5.6bn (£4.8bn) of pension fund assets in a controversial scramble to meet its deficit targets.
The cabinet agreed to transfer the assets from four of Portugal’s biggest banks to the state balance sheet.
The assets will be used to bridge a gap needed to meet the fiscal deficit target of 5.9pc of GDP set by the terms of the country’s €78bn bail-out from around 10pc in 2010.
“This measure is more than sufficient to meet the budget deficit goal in 2011,” said Helder Rosalino, secretary of state for central administration, on Friday.
Portugal said it had informed the EU and IMF and assured them it would be a “one-off”. However the 2010 budget was met by shifting three pension plans from Portugal Telecom on to the public social security system. The liabilities don’t count, yet.
What is particularly noteworthy, is that this blatant theft of Portuguese citizens’ superannuation is being done in order to meet an IMF-imposed deficit reduction target.
Just like Ireland earlier this year, when it too was ‘forced’ to raid its citizens’ super.
Your humble blogger has been documenting the wave of largely unreported super thefts that has been rolling around the world since the GFC began in 2007-08.
And warning that Australia’s politicians are already firmly on track to do the same here as well.
Indeed, the Green-Labor government has already quietly introduced a new policy directing your employer to send your future super payments to the ATO.
A sneaky policy neatly stolen from the Liberal Party.
No need to wonder why both “sides” of Australian politics want to increase the super rate from 9% to 12%.
To glimpse the truth – that government theft-by-stealth of your super is inevitable here too – all you need do is look at our ever-rising debt trajectory …
Commonwealth Government Securities On Issue | Source: Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM)
… note that Wayne’s latest budget update predicts a 57% blowout in net debt this year alone, observe the ‘slow-motion train wreck’ occurring in the global economy as a consequence of massive over-indebtedness in the USA, UK, Europe, and China, and above all, remember that our government is on the hook to bail out our Too Big To Fail ponzi banks.
Just like everyone else.
The list of countries that have already stolen citizens’ super to finance government spending, includes some that won’t surprise you (Argentina, Bolivia, Hungary, Ireland, and more), and others that might shock you (USA, UK, France).
If you have not familiarised yourself with the ever-growing global trend of government theft of citizens’ super, and especially the evidence that the first steps have already begun here too, then I urge you to read some of my many previous articles on this topic:
It Has Begun – Labor Steals Liberal’s Idea To Steal Your Super
Labor Begins To Steal Your Super
Stealing Our Super – I DARE You To Ignore This Now
Now The UK Government Is Stealing Super Too
RBA Says Our Banks Are Stuffed … In Other Words
Our Banks Racing Towards A “Bigger Armageddon”
Why They Are Planning To Steal Our Super, Explained In 4 Simple Charts
Fresh Evidence Our Banks In “Race To The Bottom” Means You Can Kiss Your Super Goodbye
“Grand Theft Pēnsiō – Europe’s ‘Economic Superstar’ Steals 5% Of Private Super Funds”
A very wise man said long ago, that “the borrower is the servant to the lender”.
Thanks to our foolish willingness to accept the Big Lie that debt is a “necessary evil” (it’s not), not just citizens, but entire nations, are now rendered servants to obey.
Slaves to bankers.
Barnaby Is Right 
So not only are they intent on stealing our super, but they will in effect be stealing from pay rises which will now not come as it will be used to fund the super increase instead. At my work, a 3% pay rise in 2012 is hugely optimistic, so the super increase all but kills any chance of my family getting a pay rise in 2012. And what pay rise did they give themselves? 30%? Mongrels!!
“A very wise man said long ago, that “the borrower is the servant to the lender”.”
Why do you think they call it debt servitude?
Shorten let the cat out of the bag a few weeks ago by confirming my long held view that super increases merely distributed the wage pie rather than increasing it. Predictably unions are bleating on about cuts to wage (yawn).
I rather save my money myself as opposed to having stored in the black vacuous pit of never ending hell (aka ” a super fund”).
That black vacuous pit is otherwise known as government bonds Richo. But they promise to pay you back… really they do!
More damn lies from the Gillard government then…ho hum.
She said things were different here in Oz and that the banking and super models wouldn’t allow the same rorting/fraud/abuse they we see in Europe and the USA with entire superannuation savings being taken by the governments in a futile attempt to pay their ever increasing debts. You hit 65 – savings :0, super:0, value of a dollar:0
Now we see proposed super payments straight to the ATO (=government)…
But of course the pollies hope to all be retired on nice fat indexed salaries before SHTF don’t they. Some other polly’s problem then eh…
What about self managed super ? Perhaps that’s a workaround for now anyway.
In any case the super funds are the real concern as members don’t know where their super is being invested (and that’s the big risk), and the funds sure aren’t about to tell you for fear of mass exodus.
How’s about investment in Oz mining (boom about to bust – good bet there especially when China goes down) or Oz real-estate (with the long overdue collapse of the bubble happening right now) or maybe US government bonds, or Iranian oil, or European sovereign debt etc.
No, super is just another ticking time bomb along with the fractional banking system and derivatives market.
Maybe the Amish had it right all along…