We’ve previously warned that elements within the U.S. government have been feverishly working to take control of all retirement assets in America. The reasoning, of course, is that the government can manage your personal finances better than you can. They’ve already begun plans to have workers invest their earnings directly into government-managed funds, but at some point, should we get into trouble, they may look to seize those assets outright and put them under central control. Like the idea of socialized, centrally-managed health care, this sounds like an impossibility in the Land of the Free. However, it’s already been established, with passage of Obamacare as clear evidence, that should they want to do this, they will.
It’s a danger to be sure, but perhaps not as dangerous as what is happening in China right now. While Chinese stock markets are in the midst of a massive collapse, the Chinese have tried just about everything to halt the crash that has so far vaporized about 25% of investor wealth in under a month. Zero Hedge asks:
What do you do when two policy rate cuts, $19 billion in committed support from a hastily contrived broker consortium, and a promise of central bank funding for the expansion of margin lending all fail to quell extreme volatility in a collapsing equity market?
The answer as far as the Peoples’ Republic of China is concerned, is to simply ban people from selling.
Yes, you read that right, as over bloated Chinese stocks disintegrate before our eyes, the Chinese government has contacted their retirement fund brokers and in no uncertain terms told them that they are not allowed to sell a single share of stock.
(Read the rest of the story here…)