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Letter: Senators, congressmen please heed the call: Hands off my 401k

In this Oct. 17, 2017, photo, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., flanked by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., left, and Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, announces to reporters that the Senate is moving ahead on a Republican budget plan at the Capitol in Washington. Senate Republicans seem to be on cruise control to pass a $4 trillion budget plan that shelves GOP deficit concerns in favor of the party’s drive to cut taxes. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

In this Oct. 17, 2017, photo, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., flanked by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., left, and Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, announces to reporters that the Senate is moving ahead on a Republican budget plan at the Capitol in Washington. Senate Republicans seem to be on cruise control to pass a $4 trillion budget plan that shelves GOP deficit concerns in favor of the party’s drive to cut taxes. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Congress, it has been reported that you want to massively reduce the amount the American middle class can contribute to 401k programs tax-free. Tax-free contributions to 401k programs are an incentive to save for the future, and for many of us, the only hope we have for retirement.

You have no business taking that away from us so you can pay for tax breaks that primarily benefit the richest Americans.

Putting money away pre-tax allows significantly more money to compound and grow. Paying taxes up front reduces the amount that is actually invested, and could result in tens of thousands of dollars in lost growth over the course of one’s career. Plus, paying taxes up front diverts money away from markets and instead puts it into the hands of the federal government, which is the opposite of “pro-business.”

Members of Congress, senators and President Trump, keep your hands off my 401k. Find another way to pay for your tax breaks, or don’t do them at all.

Gordon Sackley, Woods Cross

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By Gordon Sackley | The Public Forum