[Jtsummers]

And where would the cash to pay that tax come from? Would it be deducted from the 401(k) directly? That'd be the only way most people middle-class individuals could afford such a tax.

EDIT: My point is this. If 401(k) accounts aren't safe, then literally no method of investment or saving is safe. There's no point fretting over this one particular one. If it turns out, in 20 years, that our retirement plans have been raided by way of taxation, then likely the rest of the economy is so fucked that the lack of funds in that account will not affect you in any meaningful way, as the dollar itself will have severely lost any value as there will no longer be any trust in the US government and economy.