They've got it, we want it. So now we've got it.

Charlie linked to this column yesterday, regarding Americans who save vs. Americans who squander.

Here's the money quote:

Wilcox argues that savers who are dutifully contributing to their 401(k) plans face a real risk, because they won't pay taxes on the money until they retire. "It's easy for me to imagine 10 years from now a political candidate saying, 'We have all these people with $3 million in their 401(k) plans and we need to impose taxes on those people and shore up Social Security for people who didn't have access to these 401(k)s,'" he says. "It's a big fat target for politicians."

This reminded me of this passage from Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged:"

Those who had once simpered: “I don’t want to destroy the rich, I only want to seize a little bit of their surplus to help the poor, just a little, they’ll never miss it!” – Then, later, had snapped: “The tycoons can stand being squeezed, they’ve amassed enough to last them for three generations” – then, later, had yelled: “Why should the people suffer while businessmen have reserves to last a year?” – now were screaming: “Why should we starve while some people have reserves to last a week?” What were they counting on?