28 the largest pension fund in the country continue to buy billions of mortgage-backed securities and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae stocks, ultimately taking significant losses on them and on real estate when the bubble burst, then whatever was happening, the fiduciary governance structure was not intact. Why I No Longer Have a 401(k) I have told this story at solari.com before – see “Financial Coup d’état, and Your 401k” At the same time that billions of dollars started to disappear from HUD, my company Hamilton Securities, which was serving as the lead finan- cial advisor at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, was targeted by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Inspector General at HUD. When the government attacked, it came after every different aspect of my credit and financ- es – both personally and professionally. I had $500,000 in a 401(k). I had used these funds to finance Hamilton Securities, and then when the company was successful, it paid the 401(k) back. I had the vehicle in place and I could use it to finance the company again. Sure enough, what did the government do? The IRS put the 401(k) under audit, which meant that I couldn’t use it to finance the company. What happened next? The DOJ demanded huge amounts of make-work for subpoena compliance that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. It issued subpoenas that required about $200,000 of essentially make-work on backing up servers and repetitive subpoena compliance. I busted the 401(k), paid $250,000 in taxes, and spent the $200,000 on doing the contract compliance. That was the end for 401(k)s and me. Many years later when I won the litigation and monies were paid to Hamilton Securities, my CPA said, “Great! Let’s refund $500,000 into the 401(k). I said, “Nope. I’m never going to have a 401(k) again.” I had learned my lesson. It’s not my money if I am in partnership with the US government. It is an untrustworthy partner that I cannot depend on to obey the law. One thing that you know if you’ve ever worked out the compound interest rate on tax deferral is, where it’s legal, tax avoidance and tax deferral are profoundly attractive. At the same time, my feeling is, given what I do, if I put a dime into a 401(k) or an IRA, “it ain’t my money.” There are many situations where I may rec- ommend to clients that they keep their 401(k) or IRAs. It’s unique to the person. So I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have a 401(k), I’m only saying that I consider the US government – for someone in my situation doing what I do – to be an untrustworthy partner. What is interesting is, if you look at the headlines these days, including the most recent interview I posted on Solari from Bill Binney, the DOJ is now openly and blatant- ly lawless. They are trying to do to the President of the United States what they tried to do to Bill Binney – unsuccessfully – and they tried to do to me – also unsuccessfully. I will never put a dime into a 401(k) or IRA. Every year I read Dave Collum in his annual review denigrate people who buy bottled water when their 401(k) is not fully funded. That’s me. I travel with water from my well when I travel by car. However, airports now refuse to let me take my water through security, so I buy bot- tled water. Having been poisoned on multiple occasions during the litigation followed by years of detoxing, I understand how essential it is to stay hydrated – especially while traveling. The notion that I would shortchange my health to put money in a vehicle partnered with the US government is amusing. It will never happen. Sorry, Dave! My “Community” Bank At the time the litigation began, I had loaned (or given) $250,000 to friends and family. I know that Solari Report subscribers who are familiar with my work have heard this story before. This was $250,000 the government couldn’t seize. They could not get my bank to dirty trick me (Yes, Hamilton Securities had one local bank that worked with the government and their private “snitches” to cheat us) on that $250,000 because it was not in my bank account. It was in II. THE STATE OF OUR PENSION FUNDS