And what does the mainstream media do? They sing Hosannas to the tune of "this changes everything."

Only, this time, the folks on the frontlines aren't sitting idly by (see "White House Retirement Plan Budget Proposal Buzz Fizzles Flat with Experienced Pros," FiduciaryNews.com, February 2, 2016). There's been a growing chorus of concern over this movement towards "state-run" retirement plans for private workers.

It sounds awfully similar to the government's encroachment on another tradition employee benefit–health insurance. Fearing a repeat of that train wreck, many in the industry are calling out the government for its blatant overreach.

Yet, unlike the failed health care debate (hmm, come to think of it, was there ever a debate, or was it such one of those de facto acts?), the loyal opposition actually has a counter-proposal regarding the retirement plan benefit.

In fact, there appears to be a constellation of pieces coalescing that seems to be more on-point, more efficient, and more customer friendly than any of those headliners emanating from the president's proposed budget.

The star of this alternative show has to be the new and improved 401(k) multiple employer plan.

We've had bipartisan support for this idea for some time, and it's really not a new idea at all. The 401(k) MEP vehicle exists, but it's limited to companies with some "commonality."

In other words, companies comprising an MEP must either be in the same industry, from the same geographic region, or have some other similarity.

This has proven very limiting in getting MEPs universally adopted–and that's bad for small business and the people that work at small businesses.

The concept of pooling retirement plans offers many advantages.

Among them, they remove much of the fiduciary distractions from the plan sponsors' realm, freeing companies to do what companies should be doing–making money selling value-added products to eager consumers.

At the same time, by shifting that fiduciary burden to full-time professional fiduciaries, retirement plan savers are more likely to enjoy better retirement plan features, not just on the investment menu but within the framework of the plan itself.

One of those features has increasingly become auto-enrollment (and its bosom buddy auto-escalation). Here is where we begin to see the powerful constellation forming.

Last week, Alicia Munnell suggested auto-enrollment be the default feature in 401k plans AND that the default deferral rate be 6 percent, twice as much as the standard deferral rate today.

These are thought-provoking ideas, especially if you combine them with similar policies regarding auto-escalation.

You can see how the new and improved 401k MEP offers a much more attractive alternative to anything run by the State or the states in terms of retirement plans.

By remaining a free market activity, it encourages competition, which generally means lower prices and better products. You can't have that with a monolithic provider.

Just ask any Canadian whiling away their time waiting to see the doctor.