The Economy

My frustration holds no bounds at this point. I keep listening to the "Secured Housing Investment Trust" bill that is being debated on with our leadership thinking that dumping $800 BILLION dollars into the banks is somehow going to cause the economy to start moving once again. I know this is not the official title of the bill, but I think you can get my sentiment by the title that I heard put to it.

Someone should be looking into why the banks aren't getting income any more. Isn't that because they are trying to collect on debts that aren't being paid? And why aren't they being paid? Because we are spending all our money on gasoline to go to jobs that aren't paying enough wages to keep up with the rising expenses.

If someone really wanted to stop this depression from coming, they should look at what was done to get us out of the last one. It wasn't billions of dollars "invested" in banks that have over extended themselves. It was dumping billions of tax dollars into creating jobs.

We need to declare a state of emergency. Take the billions that are planned to being dumped into the banks like paper into a furnace and spend it on creating jobs for those who need work. We also need to take a closer look at our spending habits. The United States is in debt just as deeply as its citizens, only towards foreign nations instead of banks. Where are we planning on gaining the income for those billions?

I would say that everyone on state or government assistance needs to report to the offices so we can assign them work. The welfare system can no longer be a free ride. In this state of national emergency, it will take sacrifice from every American. And what exactly would everyone needing work do? I thought you'd never ask!

The entire Eastern and Gulf seaboards of the United States were just pummeled by severe storms. Texas was hit 12 days again by a hurricane and there are still many parts of Houston and Galveston are STILL without power. Houston is a major hub for a lot of industry in the United States, so getting it back on its feet is something that absolutely needs to happen. If those areas remain damaged and without power for too much longer, the entire U.S. will be affected. Many jobs and homes will be lost, and many businesses in those areas will go out of business altogether.

As Americans, everyone who is capable should be there assisting in restoring that area to original conditions, as well as shipping people to repair every other area of America that is in desperate need of being put back together. We just happen to have an excess of unemployed or displaced workers in this nation, or at least those that say they are unemployed and those that are on welfare.

I believe that if they want to be on welfare, they have to earn that paycheck just like the rest of us. Someone in the household should have proof of a steady, paying employment, if they cannot provide that proof, they should "volunteer" to be relocated temporarily to a disaster area or an area that is in need of help. I understand that not everyone can pack up and be temporarily placed in a disaster area to help rebuild and restore the area, for them I am sure that we can find plenty of job opportunities for them, even if it is something like picking trash up from the sides of the roadway, for example.

This would accomplish several very important things:

* Reform and improve the welfare system

* Provide employment

* Improve the economy instantly

* Improve the environment

* Improve Moral

* Provide housing for those that have lost their house or for low-income families

* Rebuild businesses, which in turn further improve the economy

If we invest money into the banks in order to save them, it will give us a short break on the slumping economy, but it won't solve the main problem of the bank not getting money coming in from the American public. If we get that money from foreign nations, what will we do when they call in their debt upon us? It would be a sad day indeed when we have to sell off the Louisiana Purchase in order to satisfy our debt to China.

We should take that $800 Billion dollars and put it to good use. We should invest the money in those who need the work, help rebuild damaged areas and raise wages for those currently working. I think that will cause the greatest improvement.

I am not saying that the banks and businesses should suffer I just think there is a better way to help everyone not just the banks. Putting the money JUST into the bank will not help stimulate jobs and it will not help rebuild the nation. If the banks receive all the money, they will be able to loan businesses and people money to rebuild and remain open but with the economy still sliding closer and closer towards the fast approaching depression, the people and business owners will not be able to re-pay the loans again and then we will be in exactly the same situation in the near future. Then what? Close our eyes and throw more money at the problem and hope it all sorts itself out in the end. It will not happen. By spending the money as they are proposing, all will suffer.

Taxpayers will be paying higher taxes that we already cannot afford on top of gasoline and food prices. People will no longer be able to pay their car payments and therefore will lose their ability to reliably get to work to make the paycheck. People will no longer afford their house payments. The dependency on the current failing and overstressed welfare system will increase and quickly lead to its collapse. And we will continue to sink into an abyss that we may not be able to survive.

What we need to do to fix this crisis involves a complete re-evaluation of federal spending. If need be, the government officials should take a pay cut and survive on a paycheck that is more like what the rest of us live on. They should "donate" the amount above and beyond that set amount to help with the funding for this idea. The taxpayers should not suffer for the mistakes of the government.

As I see it, the following are the areas that Congress and the Senate need to get together and put in solutions for:

1 – Do whatever it takes to get gas prices below $2.00 per gallon.

2 – Do what it takes to reduce the cost of food for the general populace. Use our unemployed to assist in the reduced food project.

3 – Restore all damaged areas of the nation. Those affected by tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other national disasters have no real reason for being damaged more than 90 days. Use our unemployed to assist in the restoration project.

4 – Resolve the unemployment issues by getting creative in starting new jobs. This would include taking jobs from those who do not have them legally and giving them to those who have the legal right to them and finding work for those who are on welfare and government assistance and able to work.

5 – Find a short-term solution to the housing crisis without using money the government does not have. There has to be some way to negotiate the loans that are being foreclosed upon. Assist the banks without burdening the tax paying public. If it is by paying a "bail out", then so be it.

6 - Resolve the underpayment of Americans. We may be the highest paid nation in the world, but we are also the highest charged nation.