El Arte de la RelajaZIHón

... Yes, my 401k and IRA accounts have gone up, but a lot of that is due to the depreciating dollar. When I take money out, I get to pay capital gains tax without any adjustment for inflation.

Note: When you withdraw money from a Traditional IRA or a before-tax 401(k), the enire withdrawal is taxed as earned income. If the IRA were a Roth IRA or if the money in the 401(k) were after tax, then the withdrawal is tax free. If the funds are in what the IRS calls a non-qualified account (aka regular taxable account), then you would pay capital gains on the difference between your purchase price and the sales prices, minus any commissions. The tax rate on earned income is typically higher than the tax rate on capital gains.