5 Ways the Next President Can Fix the Economy

Right...

Capitalism itself is doing great things the world over, but the American Model, as you stated, is not doing great wonders. The American Model is what has caused all this pain the world over. These other countries have moderated capitalisms... i.e. what we need. You say we should think before reversing a quater-century of deregulation. I think you're on to something here because much deregulation was a good thing, but you fail to recognize that this financial meltdown is a direct result of a lack of regulation. No one was watching! It is also a direct result of some Wall Street punks playing with semantics... i.e. Credit Default Swaps vs. insurance.

Ryan M of MO @ Nov 04, 2008 13:33:24 PM

My thoughts

I agree with most of this, but would like to point out some things.

On Item 1, getting rid of all corporate taxes makes sense but it costs alot even though most large companies avoid them anyway. How about we just allow companies to write off dividends? Then a company who distributes its profits to the shareholders won't pay any tax.

Item 2 makes a lot of sense in theory, and McCain's health plan would go a long way to making it feasible, but buying health insurance as a group versus individually is a lot cheaper. I like McCain's plan, but I think group insurance will always be a sought after benefit in this country no matter how the federal government decides to pay its share.

On Item 3, how about we raise the retirement age only for women. They live five years longer, so why should they get SS benefits at the same age as men? Its not like they aren't paying the exact same taxes for them.

I'm not really against Item 4 since any amount of government money spent on quality research is a good thing, but I don't think its the most effective way to stimulate good research. Most of the key technology challenges already have a lot of money to be gained by the solver. The problem is that you could easily put a ton of work into the problem and not solve it, or solve it a few years after some competing researcher and thus not get the prize. I'd rather see the money spent on grants to people performing good research on worthwhile causes, though I admit the high profile nature of prizes has been good for private spaceflight. Also, encouraging collaboration versus competition in research would probably benefit the nation as a whole.

Item 5: So you basically want to create more NSF fellowships. No argument against that, but if we want to get our best and brightest kids to study science and engineering we have to make it as lucrative a career path as the other options they have available to them. How about the government give all its engineers a full grade increase on the GS scale? To compete, private industry would have to follow suit, and though it would cost companies more, over time better students would choose the profession instead of going to law or business school. Better students would over time create better technology. Besides, most companies don't spend that much on engineer/scientist salaries anyway, so a 15 or 20% increase wouldn't hurt them that much.

Bill of DE @ Oct 24, 2008 16:51:25 PM

French approach to markets

The French may be on to something good.Hypermarkets kill more small businesses in the small towns of the U.S.A. than big city people could imagine.Privately owned retail stores are becoming extinct in towns that allow them to build and operate.

dcmeyer of TX @ Oct 20, 2008 16:35:43 PM

America vs Europe policies

Socialism is not all bad;there is a lot to be gained by getting the working class better and more equal access to health care.

dcmeyer of TX @ Oct 20, 2008 16:24:54 PM

rumblesink bailout

you need to work on your arithmetic. $85B distributed over 200m is $425--not $425K. Sorry to burst your bubble.

BTW, I am reflexively against the government bailing out any company, for any reason. As I am against government funding most things outside the military and some infrastructure projects. Most of those whould be funded by the local/state government--not the Feds.

I cannot, however, say that I am solidly against the "bail out", because I don't really know what is going on. Hence--my position is "reflexive" since I am quite sure that the corrupt gang in Dc that got us into this will screw it up even more.

cabystander of CA @ Oct 16, 2008 19:52:45 PM

Citizen bailout

I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.

>

> Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in

> a "We Deserve It Dividend".

>

> To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000

> bonafide U.S. Citizens age 18+.

>

> Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man,

woman

> and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18

and up..

>

> So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals

> $425,000.00.

>

> My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a

> We Deserve It Dividend.

>

> Of course, it would NOT be tax free.

> So let's assume a tax rate of 30%.

>

> Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.

> That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.

>

> But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their

pocket.

> A husband and wife has $595,000.00.

>

> What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your

family?

> Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.

> Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads

> Put away money for college - it'll be there

> Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.

> Buy a new car - create jobs

> & nbsp; Invest in the market - capital drives growth

> Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care

improves

> Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean or else

>

> Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the

folks

> who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other

company

> that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our

Armed

> Forces.

>

> If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do

it...instead of

> trickling out

> a puny $1000.00 economic incentive that is being proposed by

one of

> our candidates for President.

>

> If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out

every

> adult U S Citizen 18+!

>

> As for AIG - liquidate it.

> Sell off its parts.

> Let American General go back to being American General.

> Sell off the real estate.

> Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it

up.

>

> ; Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't.

>

> Sure it's a crazy idea that can work.

>

> But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!

>

> How do you spell Economic Boom?

>

> I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85

Billion

> We Deserve It Dividend more than the geniuses at AIG or in

Washington

> DC .

>

> And remember, The Family plan only really costs $59.5 Billion

because

> $25.5 Billion is returned i

H.P.Belliveau of FL @ Oct 15, 2008 17:30:17 PM

Here's a solution that makes sense

this guy may have the answer - makes sense to me -

I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.

Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve It Dividend.

To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bona fide U.S. Citizens 18+.

Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up.

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals $425,000.00.

The plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend.

Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let's assume a tax rate of 30%.

Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.

But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife has $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?

Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.

Buy a second home - stimulate the economy

Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads

Put away money for college - it'll be there

Pay off credit cards - more disposable income to invest or purchase goods and services - stimulate the economy

Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.

Buy a new car - create jobs

Invest in the market - capital drives growth

Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves

Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks

who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back.

And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it.

If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult

U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG - liquidate it.

Sell off its parts.

Let American General go back to being American General. Sell off the real estate.

Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here's the rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't.

Sure it's a crazy idea that can "never work."

But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!

How do you spell Economic Boom?

rumblesink of NC @ Sep 29, 2008 18:56:54 PM

Yeah Right, same old stuff... new reporter

How about lets try something a bit different instead. First lets stop believing people bought for and paid by corporations. Lets listen to economists instead. Here are my suggestions.

1. Bring back the fairness doctrine. Do this so Americans can actually hear dissenting voices on the public air waves instead of 24/7 corporate taking points and then let us make up our own mind.

2. Corporations must pay their fair share. Tax breaks only for corporations that bring manufacturing jobs back into the country.

3. Nationalize healthcare, just like they do anywhere else and call a constitutional convention to make healthcare a right to all citizens.

4. O'k with Social Security I would like to hear more about exactly how this will lower my taxes. If it can be done and put more money into my pocket, it sounds great. But first we need to hear dissenting voices AND we need to see hard numbers. This crisis we are in occurred very simply because the math did not add up. Lets see the math, not big unproven claims.

5. I think innovation prizes are the perfect way to go. Lets tax big oil with a winfall profits tax and keep that money specifically for innovations that create jobs IN THE COUNTRY. Also it makes NO sense for us to give prizes to innovators who ship jobs overseas. I am tired of foreign welfare. If you give a prize the jobs are created here or you simply don't get the money.

6. You can start creating more scientists by investing not in colleges but instead in your elementary and secondary schools. Kids need inquery based, hands on learning. This creates scientifically literate kids. This isn't a claim, there is quite a bit of evidence supporting this. So invest while they are young. Then follow through on your investment. It does us no good to give districts money for science and have them turn around and use it to pay for pet projects, gymnasiums, auditoriums, and soccer fields. The money must be followed and the schools must demonstrate that it was used in science classrooms. A good way to do this is to get teachers to fill out affadavits no what materials they recieved and submit lesson plans of what activities the kids participated in.

Anthony F of IL @ Sep 26, 2008 14:15:17 PM