Subject: File No. S7-14-08
From: DAVID H HORNING
Affiliation: Accountant, Ins Agent, Inactive 6,63 Advisor, Mtg Loan Rep

July 25, 2008

There are various times in history that various agencies of the federal government have tried to take control of a financial area to save the public from themselves. Take the Federal Reserve Bank. They were established to keep the banks from overspending and loosing credibility in the pubic causing widespread panic. Look where we are today. The Federal Reserve allowed low borrowing rate to drop to allow everyone to qualify for a home allowing massive percentages of ARM loans and then after the housing market drops they raise the rates causing widespread housing drop in prices causing early recasts in the ARM Loans causing massive foreclosures. And then they drop the borrowing rate but don't require the banks to pass the lower rate to the public which does nothing for the homeowners and increases the profit for the banks. With the massive foreclosures going on why not just refinance the homes with ARM Loans into 30 year loans and let the homeowners continue to pay on them instead of foreclosing on them and then having to sell them at a much reduced sales price.

The reason I bring this us is that another agency (The SEC) is now trying to take a product (Fixed Index Annuities) and only allow licensed Securities Agent to be allowed to sell the product. It is obviously not a securites product but very popular with the public today.
This is totally an abuse of power in what the SEC was set up to police. Why would we want to take a simple fixed product the make it subject to the Securites Industry. This is where most of the Investment Abusive Tactics have come from. Not the Insurance and Fixed Product Industry.

I totally disagree with the SEC's desire to make Fixed Index Annuities a Securities Product. This sounds like someone is getting paid off to benefit the Securites Brokerage Houses since they are loosing control of a lot of funds transferring to fixed products. Which by the way is not a bad thing with so many baby boomers looking a retirement in the next 10 years. Many of them are just now getting back to there 401k balances they had back in 1999. They have lost almost 10 years of earnings and don't wish to take another chance at losses the next 10 years. Don't tie them up with having to set up brokerage accounts and being preyed on by hungry stock brokers looking for commissions and talking uneducated baby boomers in some get rich quick stock or mutual fund.

Leave the Indexed Annuities alone. They are doing just fine the way they are.