From ZeroHedge.com:
Europe Considers Wholesale Savings Confiscation, Enforced Redistribution
by Tyler Durden
At first we thought Reuters had been punk’d in its article titled “EU executive sees personal savings used to plug long-term financing gap” which disclosed the latest leaked proposal by the European Commission, but after several hours without a retraction, we realized that the story is sadly true. Sadly, because everything that we warned about in “There May Be Only Painful Ways Out Of The Crisis” back in September of 2011, and everything that the depositors and citizens of Cyprus had to live through, seems on the verge of going continental. In a nutshell, and in Reuters’ own words, “the savings of the European Union’s 500 million citizens could be used to fund long-term investments to boost the economy and help plug the gap left by banks since the financial crisis, an EU document says.” What is left unsaid is that the “usage” will be on a purely involuntary basis, at the discretion of the “union”, and can thus best be described as confiscation.
“Best be described as confiscation.”
As the US under Mr Obama seems to be so incredibly Hell-bent on mirroring absolutely the worst aspects of Europe — namely, Socialism — can one do what I call The Logical Extension?
The source of this stunner is a document seen be Reuters, which describes how the EU is looking for ways to “wean” the 28-country bloc from its heavy reliance on bank financing and find other means of funding small companies, infrastructure projects and other investment. So as Europe finally admits that the ECB has failed to unclog its broken monetary pipelines for the past five years – something we highlight every month (most recently in No Waking From Draghi’s Monetary Nightmare: Eurozone Credit Creation Tumbles To New All Time Low), the commissions report finally admits that “the economic and financial crisis has impaired the ability of the financial sector to channel funds to the real economy, in particular long-term investment.”
The solution? “The Commission will ask the bloc’s insurance watchdog in the second half of this year for advice on a possible draft law “to mobilize more personal pension savings for long-term financing“, the document said.”
Mobilize, once again, is a more palatable word than, say, confiscate.
And yet this is precisely what Europe is contemplating:
“Banks have complained they are hindered from lending to the economy by post-crisis rules forcing them to hold much larger safety cushions of capital and liquidity.
The document said the “appropriateness” of the EU capital and liquidity rules for long-term financing will be reviewed over the next two years, a process likely to be scrutinized in the United States and elsewhere to head off any risk of EU banks gaining an unfair advantage.”
It gets better for the Europeans:
Inspired by the recently introduced “no risk, guaranteed return” collectivized savings instrument in the US better known as MyRA, Europe will also complete a study by the end of this year on the feasibility of introducing an EU savings account, open to individuals whose funds could be pooled and invested in small companies.
Because when corporations refuse to invest money in Capex, who will invest? Why you, dear Europeans. Whether you like it or not.
One word to the wise; a bit of caution for those inhabiting DC: if you are even remotely considering any form of fiscal savings/checking confiscation of American funds from American Taxpayers, then you may well be boxing yourself into a corner the likes of which could potentially result in national insurrection. The kind of insurrection that won’t be pleasant or pretty to watch.
And since soldiers and law enforcement officers are American Taxpayers and have, say, for example, savings accounts as well — you could perhaps be throwing a party that very few will deign to attend. And I’m not familiar with many bankers who are entirely facile with firearms of any kind.
In other words, on the steps of DC or the steps of your state capitol, what might occur if an unhappy crowd were to appear on said steps and your local gendarmes and soldiers were to step aside and simply say: “walk on in”?
What if there were actual Oathkeepers? Many of them? Such as myself?
Perhaps this is a scenario to be considered if one does any sort of Logical Extension involving the above, DC.
Just a thought.
BZ
From TheBlaze.com:
