IMLO the widespread incompetance of the legislative protections put in place and policed by mediocre (or conceited?) public officials is akin to the "free selection before survey" of crown land under land legislation introduced in the 1860s.
The Federal Govt and commissions like ASIC and ACCC and the overselling of their capabilities does more damage than good. All they seem to achieve is to legitimise misleading and deceptive conduct. A super naiive (conceited?) attempt at drawing a line in the sand between acceptable and non-acceptable behaviour. (Public officials who KNOW how inaccessible the legal system is. Always has been always will.) And in the process subverting some of our common law rights as well as our ability to engage in a free market.
Regulators conceding ground all over the place to interest groups (
http://www.investordaily.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/id/style/9509.htm?rdeCOQ=SID-0A3D9632-4E2575C9) and an army of lawyers to effectively LOWER the general standard. (And damaging competition) Disarming us punters with poor legislation and their reckless confidence and then throwing us to their pet AFS licenced sharks or worse .... When things go wrong it's all our fault for being greedy. (I would never ever ever ever have come into contact with PIF if it wasn't for my ASIC promoted and branded (i.e. AFS licenced) financial advisor.)
The $1trillion plus of super (compulsorily taken from us at a minimum of 9%) is vulnerable to this ramshackle system. Private interest sharks will always out smart the itinerant legislators/regulators. Isn't that why we're supposed to let the market decide?
The land laws were supposed to transfer squatter land to competant selectors. It backfired severly. Poor implementation and policing just promoted corruption, bribery and blackmail which spread, according to my historian, to other aspects of life in the colony and endured into the 20th century. According to wikipedia (confirmed by one historian I'm reading), in NSW alone, "By 1890, 37,000,000 acres (150,000 km²) had been transferred by selection, but over half of it was owned by 677 people. Although a major purpose of the legislation was to encourage cropping, only 330,000 acres (1,300 km²) was being used for wheat-growing in 1890". EPIC FAIL.
Sound familiar doesn't it? That lesson has been forgotten. Legislation that was supposed to protect those of us who wish to self fund our retirement is doing the opposite. I.e. helping those already there (in the finance sector) increase their wealth and the legitimancy of their wealth. Encouraging and rewarding the sharks and hustlers financially.
Seems to me we're at the same point in history. Here we go again.
One trillion $ + of super funds and Swan and his predecessors put us in the tank and then sell the bait and tackle. All the time actually believing they're shifting responsibility to us. Wrong.
Read this:
http://www.contractworld.com.au/campaigns/ica-smsf-worries-over-superannuation-disclosure.php. Or read the extract appended below.
CTRL+ALT+DEL.
CTRL+ALT+DEL.
CTRL+ALT+DEL.
How do I exit this system???????
Appendix:
"Industry funds were looked at more closely. This is because they receive privileged financial advantage through the industrial relations system where they dominate (84%) the 'default' arrangements under the modern award system. That is, if a worker does not nominate a super fund to which their money goes, the award requires the money to go to an industry fund in 84% of cases.
The report investigated the structure and controlling systems in the industry fund sector and found a complex web of intertwined corporate and trust structures. They discovered a 'round-robin' of control where one outsourced fund company exercises control over huge amounts of industry super funds. Some industry funds have purchased shares in these outsourced fund management companies, but many of these assets pay no dividends and their return potential is difficult to assess (because of poor disclosure).
This has previously not been fully mapped or understood. Further,
the report identifies the twelve most powerful people in superannuation today, who between them have effective control of $188 billion of industry (workers') retirement money.
This is a massive concentration of financial power in the hands of a small number of people and businesses, making them some of the most powerful people and corporates in Australia. "