AP reports (link dead) that Senator Clinton has dropped the baby bond giveaway idea and put in its place a more expensive one.

WEBSTER CITY, IOWA — Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton proposed tax cuts of up to $1,000 a year on Tuesday to encourage millions of working-age families to open personal 401(k) retirement accounts.

The New York senator said the program would be paid for through higher estate taxes.

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She outlined a program in which the government would provide a “matching refundable tax credit — dollar for dollar — for the first $1,000 of savings done by every married couple making up to $60,000 a year.”

More government giveaway. The idea wouldn’t be half bad if it were just the tax cuts. I still think we’re on the wrong side of the Laffer curve.

Companies provide 401(k) accounts in various capacities not because they are feeling charitable but because they want to keep employees for long periods of time. The enlightened self-interest has led my company to put together a pretty decent package. A government 401(k) would likely cause companies to drop theirs, and we’d be stuck with whatever the government wanted to provide.