Spain Plunders 90% Of Social Security Fund To Buy Its Own Debt

[thatguy]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-01-03/spain-plunders-90-social-security-fund-buy-its-own-debt

Spain has been quietly tapping the country's richest piggy bank, the Social Security Reserve Fund, as a buyer of last resort for Spanish government bonds, raising questions about the fund's role as guarantor of future pension payouts.

Now the scarcely noticed borrowing spree, carried out amid a prolonged economic crisis, is about to end, because there is little left to take. At least 90% of the 65 billion ($85.7 billion) fund has been invested in increasingly risky Spanish debt, according to official figures, and the government has begun withdrawing cash for emergency payments.

Although the trend has drawn little public attention or controversy, it has become a matter of concern for the relatively few independent financial analysts who study the fund, which is used to guarantee future payments of pensions.

IOU

A scary trend all around the world! When stealing wealth from the future using debt is not enough... then this.

 

[nonrecourse]

:lol: :lol: :lol: Reminds me of what the Canadian Liberal Party did when Pierre Elliott Trudeau was Prime Minister of Canada in the late 1960's. He borrowed all the social security money at 3% to fund all his social welfare programs that the country could ill afford.In the late 1970's after he blew all the cash he then had to borrow at 10-12% to pay back the social security funds.

His solution which was part of the reason he was thrown out of office was he rasied taxes to pay for his social agenda.

You have to remember that when you vote for a party what you get is a politician. They are not there to act in the publics best interest they are there to hang onto to power until they are dragged kicking and screaming out by the electorate.

As time goes by you see the same recurring episodes. Learn, understand how the system works and protect yourself.

Kind Regards
non recourse

 

[Diablo21]

:lol: :lol: :lol: Reminds me of what the Canadian Liberal Party did when Pierre Elliott Trudeau was Prime Minister of Canada in the late 1960's. He borrowed all the social security money at 3% to fund all his social welfare programs that the country could ill afford.In the late 1970's after he blew all the cash he then had to borrow at 10-12% to pay back the social security funds.

His solution which was part of the reason he was thrown out of office was he rasied taxes to pay for his social agenda.

You have to remember that when you vote for a party what you get is a politician. They are not there to act in the publics best interest they are there to hang onto to power until they are dragged kicking and screaming out by the electorate.

As time goes by you see the same recurring episodes. Learn, understand how the system works and protect yourself.

Kind Regards
non recourse

Didn't know this, thanks for the info. Btw, now his son is running for the Liberal party's leadership, I wonder what he has in store for us (not that it makes a difference which rat is running the country )

 

[hiho]

:lol: :lol: :lol: Reminds me of what the Canadian Liberal Party did when Pierre Elliott Trudeau was Prime Minister of Canada in the late 1960's. He borrowed all the social security money at 3% to fund all his social welfare programs that the country could ill afford.In the late 1970's after he blew all the cash he then had to borrow at 10-12% to pay back the social security funds.

His solution which was part of the reason he was thrown out of office was he rasied taxes to pay for his social agenda.

You have to remember that when you vote for a party what you get is a politician. They are not there to act in the publics best interest they are there to hang onto to power until they are dragged kicking and screaming out by the electorate.

As time goes by you see the same recurring episodes. Learn, understand how the system works and protect yourself.

Kind Regards
non recourse

when they are robbing Peter to pay Paul, there's but one solution, become Paul

 

[Old Codger]

The USA has been doing this since the early 1980s at least.

The Social Security Trust Fund is ALL in US Treasury Bonds (by law) , which were getting about 4 or 5 %, and is now getting about 2%.

Even OZ did it under Menzies back in the '60s I think. Took all the funds and issued Bonds.

Clever little trick.

OC

 

[petey]

when they are robbing Peter to pay Paul, there's but one solution, become Paul

Thought about this a fair bit lately - tax free threshold is $18000 now.

 

[errol43]

Old Codger.. My father told me that Bob Menzies took the retirement funds that was an added tax prior to 1948..It was to pay for pensions for the old..Dad said he took it, put it into consolidated revenue and won the 1949 election by lifting rationing which was still in place by using the retirement funds to fund election promises.

Havn't changed much have they?

Regards Errol 43

 

[hiho]

when they are robbing Peter to pay Paul, there's but one solution, become Paul

Thought about this a fair bit lately - tax free threshold is $18000 now.

That's where the family trust does nicely

 

[long88]

hi,

what do you think we should do to protect ourselves?

setup smsf?
hold pm?
cash flow positive from property? but curently will be hard to get into property without debt..

suggestion?

thx

:lol: :lol: :lol: Reminds me of what the Canadian Liberal Party did when Pierre Elliott Trudeau was Prime Minister of Canada in the late 1960's. He borrowed all the social security money at 3% to fund all his social welfare programs that the country could ill afford.In the late 1970's after he blew all the cash he then had to borrow at 10-12% to pay back the social security funds.

His solution which was part of the reason he was thrown out of office was he rasied taxes to pay for his social agenda.

You have to remember that when you vote for a party what you get is a politician. They are not there to act in the publics best interest they are there to hang onto to power until they are dragged kicking and screaming out by the electorate.

As time goes by you see the same recurring episodes. Learn, understand how the system works and protect yourself.

Kind Regards
non recourse

 

[Clawhammer]

Spain Plunders 90% Of Social Security Fund To Buy Its Own Debt

 

[volrathy]

hi,

what do you think we should do to protect ourselves?

setup smsf?
hold pm?
cash flow positive from property? but curently will be hard to get into property without debt..

suggestion?

thx

Holidays to south coast nsw / head upto the great barrier reef

have a few beers and relax


..

..

..

Enjoy life its short no point stress about protecting yourself from economy collapse.. Use gold and silver as a place to store wealth nothing more nothing else

 

[long88]

i already have my beer when i am 20 something... now beer is just occasional drink..

own gold and silver, but still cannot beat the price rise caused by goverment.... i dont think i will spend all of my dollar on rubbish that has no value.

quit the herd mentality, and be ahead because you do something different.

if you keep your mentality, you will probably the first on the street when things go bad.

hi,

what do you think we should do to protect ourselves?

setup smsf?
hold pm?
cash flow positive from property? but curently will be hard to get into property without debt..

suggestion?

thx

Holidays to south coast nsw / head upto the great barrier reef

have a few beers and relax


..

..

..

Enjoy life its short no point stress about protecting yourself from economy collapse.. Use gold and silver as a place to store wealth nothing more nothing else

 

[volrathy]

i already have my beer when i am 20 something... now beer is just occasional drink..

own gold and silver, but still cannot beat the price rise caused by goverment.... i dont think i will spend all of my dollar on rubbish that has no value.

quit the herd mentality, and be ahead because you do something different.

if you keep your mentality, you will probably the first on the street when things go bad.

most likely I will be

personally i think people should focus on what the have a passion of.

I have loved computer programming since i was a 12 yr old. I try and provide the best real estate software to my clients I have been in the real estate / computer software business for over 8 years. So yeah my mentality of

"Do what makes you happy follow your passion and have a balanced life with holidays etc" it might result in a few years time when the SHTF that I'm short but at least I haven't spent the last 5 years stressing about the possibility that the US economy has collapsed and screwed us over.

The Australian economy has ALOT of room to move.

Physical Silver and Gold will always be the "king" of investments as they are REAL.

However I think that family and a balanced lifestyle taking holidays having a beer and relaxing would be considered "queen" of investments you are investing in yourself

 

[nonrecourse]

hi,

what do you think we should do to protect ourselves?

setup smsf?
hold pm?
cash flow positive from property? but curently will be hard to get into property without debt..

suggestion?

In order to protect yourself the first thing you have to do is sit down and write out financial plans for 6 months 1 year 5 years 10 years, 25 years. You need to look at your income and expenses. The basic first plan should be to have enough available cash to live for six months with no income. Start saving fiat from day one.

Most people could easily eliminate 20-30% of their weekly/monthly expenses.

Axe Foxtel, forget about eating out. No coffee/ tea. Go on a three month no Alcohol binge. If you smoke stop. Drink tap water. If you have a bike use it instead of the car as much as possible. If you can walk rather than use public transport do. If your car is over 5 years old ditch your comprehensive car insurance and just take out 3rd party insurance. Look at all your insurances and negotiate them all down. If you drive slow down and smell the roses

Buy cheaper cuts of meat and get a crock pot that cooks it slowly. Stop eating potatoes, rice, pasta, bread.> High protein low carbohydrate diet and walk 25 kms a week. If you have the space grow your own veggies/fruit. Take your lunch to work every day. Shop for things you need to replace at home/work at the opportunity shops first.

Stop buying newspapers, books magazines use the internet instead. Hang your clothes out to dry don't use a dryer. Look after your clothes and use what you have.

Get rid of extra fridges and electrical appliances and anything that increases your power bills that you really don't need. Keep your dry cleaning to the minimum. Look at switching to cheaper electricity/gas company and use less of both. Buy second hand iphone/android and get the cheapest personal plan with telstra unless your employer pays for your phone.

Entertain at home and take holidays that cost little or nothing. Work 6 or seven days a week to increase your income by another 30%. Empty your pockets each night of change and save it. Eliminate your credit card debt using loose change and pay extra each month. Stop all direct debits and pay via your bank accounts using electronic funds transfer. Tear up all your credit cards except two one for personal and one for business/investing. Pay out your credit cards in full every month after you have them paid out. Go for low interest charge cards but take as much credit (limits) as they will give you on both cards.

Have 4 weeks of non perishable food stocked away in your pantry/Garage that you gradually use and replace. Open a safety deposit box. After you have a reserve of six months fiat switch to purchasing gold bullion. With the 20-30% savings in spending and the 30% increase in extra earnings start stacking gold bullion untill you have 3 kgs. While doing this read threads in property section 101 & 102

Review all your investment plans every six months. Read as much as possible about accounting and finance and SMSF's. Never invest in the share market. If you want to invest in a company start your own business.

Kind Regards
non recourse

 

[long88]

wow... quite frugal.. but i must admit i did all of those.. and still have the habit of doing it now.

so no foxtel, beer, smoke etc etc.. only occasional eat out when there is celebration.

been saving for about 10 years.. paid off my house.. then realise that no point holding cash, now have about 40% lvr on portofolio, have a positive cash flow property supporting the income.

been trying to earn extra cash to buy PM, and been stashing it every month (after all of the loan, living expenses paid).

next what though ? doesnt seems like PM is going to explode to the moon any time soon. and wanting to go back to more property acquisition, it is more addictive than PM (especially seeing those rent money coming in without having to work for it).

thx for the suggestion though.. i hope you are practising it as well...

hi,

what do you think we should do to protect ourselves?

setup smsf?
hold pm?
cash flow positive from property? but curently will be hard to get into property without debt..

suggestion?

In order to protect yourself the first thing you have to do is sit down and write out financial plans for 6 months 1 year 5 years 10 years, 25 years. You need to look at your income and expenses. The basic first plan should be to have enough available cash to live for six months with no income. Start saving fiat from day one.

Most people could easily eliminate 20-30% of their weekly/monthly expenses.

Axe Foxtel, forget about eating out. No coffee/ tea. Go on a three month no Alcohol binge. If you smoke stop. Drink tap water. If you have a bike use it instead of the car as much as possible. If you can walk rather than use public transport do. If your car is over 5 years old ditch your comprehensive car insurance and just take out 3rd party insurance. Look at all your insurances and negotiate them all down. If you drive slow down and smell the roses

Buy cheaper cuts of meat and get a crock pot that cooks it slowly. Stop eating potatoes, rice, pasta, bread.> High protein low carbohydrate diet and walk 25 kms a week. If you have the space grow your own veggies/fruit. Take your lunch to work every day. Shop for things you need to replace at home/work at the opportunity shops first.

Stop buying newspapers, books magazines use the internet instead. Hang your clothes out to dry don't use a dryer. Look after your clothes and use what you have.

Get rid of extra fridges and electrical appliances and anything that increases your power bills that you really don't need. Keep your dry cleaning to the minimum. Look at switching to cheaper electricity/gas company and use less of both. Buy second hand iphone/android and get the cheapest personal plan with telstra unless your employer pays for your phone.

Entertain at home and take holidays that cost little or nothing. Work 6 or seven days a week to increase your income by another 30%. Empty your pockets each night of change and save it. Eliminate your credit card debt using loose change and pay extra each month. Stop all direct debits and pay via your bank accounts using electronic funds transfer. Tear up all your credit cards except two one for personal and one for business/investing. Pay out your credit cards in full every month after you have them paid out. Go for low interest charge cards but take as much credit (limits) as they will give you on both cards.

Have 4 weeks of non perishable food stocked away in your pantry/Garage that you gradually use and replace. Open a safety deposit box. After you have a reserve of six months fiat switch to purchasing gold bullion. With the 20-30% savings in spending and the 30% increase in extra earnings start stacking gold bullion untill you have 3 kgs. While doing this read threads in property section 101 & 102

Review all your investment plans every six months. Read as much as possible about accounting and finance and SMSF's. Never invest in the share market. If you want to invest in a company start your own business.

Kind Regards
non recourse

 

[Clawhammer]

The basic first plan should be to have enough available cash to live for six months with no income.

A Big +1 to that!!!

 

[Nugget]

Buy cheaper cuts of meat and get a crock pot that cooks it slowly. Stop eating potatoes, rice, pasta, bread.> High protein low carbohydrate diet and walk 25 kms a week. If you have the space grow your own veggies/fruit. Take your lunch to work every day. Shop for things you need to replace at home/work at the opportunity shops first.

Sensible points except this one.


Potatoes, Rice and Pasta are cheap. Very cheap.

Meat is expensive, very expensive.


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PutaZQN8R34[/youtube]


Just my opinion and to be honest, my opinion shouldn't carry much weight because it's all around my belly LOL (nor really funny though)

 

[nonrecourse]

wow... quite frugal.. but i must admit i did all of those.. and still have the habit of doing it now.

so no foxtel, beer, smoke etc etc.. only occasional eat out when there is celebration.

been saving for about 10 years.. paid off my house.. then realise that no point holding cash, now have about 40% lvr on portofolio, have a positive cash flow property supporting the income.

been trying to earn extra cash to buy PM, and been stashing it every month (after all of the loan, living expenses paid).

next what though ? doesnt seems like PM is going to explode to the moon any time soon. and wanting to go back to more property acquisition, it is more addictive than PM (especially seeing those rent money coming in without having to work for it).

thx for the suggestion though.. i hope you are practising it as well...

We live well below our means and the kids spend bugger all. With regards to purchasing more property. If you have 5% in bullion for your geared properties total value, you own your own home outright, have 6 months fiat in reserve then I'd suggest your paying too much tax.

Kind Regards
non recourse

 

[nonrecourse]

The reason for the term middle age is when you are in your late 30's, 40's and 50's when you consume rice, potatoes, pasta and bread it goes to the middle and stays there

Kind Regards
non recourse

 

[willrocks]

Buy cheaper cuts of meat and get a crock pot that cooks it slowly. Stop eating potatoes, rice, pasta, bread.> High protein low carbohydrate diet and walk 25 kms a week. If you have the space grow your own veggies/fruit. Take your lunch to work every day. Shop for things you need to replace at home/work at the opportunity shops first.

Sensible points except this one.


Potatoes, Rice and Pasta are cheap. Very cheap.

Meat is expensive, very expensive.


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PutaZQN8R34[/youtube]


Just my opinion and to be honest, my opinion shouldn't carry much weight because it's all around my belly LOL (nor really funny though)

Totally agree. Three years ago I went on a low-carb diet for about 10 months. Yes I lost a lot of weight, but it nearly killed me, and the weight came back after the diet ended.

A diet free of fried food, refined sugars, meat and dairy, and high in fresh green veg and legumes is much healthier in my experience.