Instead of paying billions to clean and ship all the tanks, humvees, desks, chairs, computers, ect. and other military hardware back to the U.S. we should lease it to the Iraqi’s and leave troops to “maintain” the equipment ONLY.

Instead of handing over cash on the weekend to keep GM afloat for another month, lets offer each GM, Toyota, Ford and Chrysler a contract to produce all new military equipment (Hummer plant can easily make armor plated Hum Vee’s), city busses and bullet trains for the new infrastructure projects. We can give them each say 200 billion dollars of a 400 billion dollar contract to start production. This would allow them to retool, pay suppliers, pay employees, pay state and federal taxes, and cover health care costs. Keeping them afloat while at the same time restarting the parts industry, the iron mining industry, the production support industry (restaurants)

Location:

Why not give every American who has a Social Security Number a $5,000 Economic ‎Financial Spending Infusion to get our economy a fast jump start? This money would be ‎loaded onto a credit type card and would have a limit to be used in 3 months or 6 months. ‎If the card wasn’t used in that time the Government would be allowed to cancel the card ‎after that time and take back the funds! This money could not be turned into cash,(preventing misuse for gambling,drugs etc.)but ‎could be used to purchase or buy anything the same as cash. People could buy cars,use it for ‎education,use it for down payment on a home,use it to buy merchandise,use it to pay ‎mortage payments,pay rent,or anything they choose but it would never be as cash! This cash ‎card infusion would create jobs,keep people working,and help to stimulate our economy ‎in a huge way! We are wasting our money by giving all these Company’s and Banks ‎these Billion Dollar Bailouts,why not give the money where the money will do the most good ‎‎”DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE”? The funds could also be determined that anyone 18 ‎years or younger would get $2,500 and anyone who is 21 years or older would get ‎‎$5,000. In doing this you would see businesses offering to accept the cash cards so U.S. ‎Citizens would spend it with them! The total cost of this program would be far less than ‎the Billions that have already been spent to give to AIG,as well as General Motors and ‎Crysler Corp as well as others. This money could be distributed by the Social Security Office as every ‎American has a Social Security Card,this one time cash card would be non taxable but tax ‎would still apply to anything it was used for. I think 3 months should be the shortest time ‎to use the card once us American’s receive’s it and no longer than 6 months to use it. If ‎after the deadline date the card wasn’t used completely,than the account would be closed by the Government. This cash equivilent card could help people to find jobs,create jobs,and stimulate our Economy in every area of the United States. All Americans would be included in this plan even people on Social Services in every State.

Location:

Why limit the refinance to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac?

Consider this, make the 105% refinance available to any homeowner.

The big drops in value have already occurred, while we haven’t hit bottom yet, we have already lost a big part of the equity, new construction is way down, as inventory is absorbed housing prices will stabilize if the market doesn’t continue to be saturated with foreclosures. The market should be approaching equilibrium. This is a little myopic in that if the economy continues to falter or get worse we will continue to experience foreclosures.

By making the refinances available to anyone with a commercial loan (not a private note, which might also be considered for inclusion) at 95% – 100% of fair market value for first position notes and the additional 5% to be used for second position notes – or allow have the notes in junior positions to subordinate. Those in a junior position should be delighted as the first would be smaller and they would be closer to losing less.

So here is how it would work, the government would offer low interest loans (higher than the cost of funds so the actual refinanced note is carrying its own weight) up to whatever value limit is decided (needs to be close to market value), subject to the current loan holder accepting the loss between their total note amount and current market value (not allowing the first loan holder to add the difference on as a junior note). This would be advantageous to the current note holder as they wouldn’t have to lose the income stream between when they stop receiving payments and the time the foreclosure is final, the cost of foreclosure, the cost of repairing to property to marketable condition and the carrying costs (taxes, insurance, yard maintenance etc.).

The government would have minimized risk (market value having already dropped), it won’t be seen as an additional bailout for banks, it won’t depend on the borrowers luck (is their loan held by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac) and it might help stabilize the market by helping those other 2/3’s homeowners not covered by the current plan.

By lowering housing payments you would be freeing up discretionary income which I hopefully would help us out of our current economic woes.

Just my thoughts

Location:

There are several inescapable realities of our ever-worsening economy that all point to the conclusion that the federal government must take on the role of an employer of last resort.

1. In addition to the already-unemployed, the rest of us are also basing our purchasing and investing decisions on a real possibility of losing our own sole source of income. Jobs are the missing ingredient that the private sector can no longer reliably provide if left to its own resources.

2. This nation can also ill afford the luxury of increasing millions of laid-off workers collecting unemployment-compensation, while sitting idle and contributing nothing to the economy.

3. The prospect of deficit spending without foreseeable end carries with it far too much negative baggage to ever provide the sorely needed catalyst for a renewed positive mindset.

4. The capacity of the federal government is not boundless, and it will lose the ability to change the course of events if it waits until unemployment levels reach an unmanageable level.

Conclusion: Able-bodied workers who find themselves unable to keep or find employment in the private sector should no longer receive unemployment checks, or welfare payments. They instead should be provided a meaningful job with a living-wage paycheck thereby restoring a workable level of full employment. From that point the private sector will regain its lost self-confidence, and maintain that positive mindset so long as the government continues to fill the unemployment gap as the economy goes up and down. A civilian workforce, advancing education, environmental and public-service needs, will not be a waste of money, but instead an appropriate investment in the future of following generations who will likely have to pay for the deficits created by this generation.

Location:

There are several inescapable realities of our ever-worsening economy that all point to the conclusion that the federal government must take on the role of an employer of last resort.

1. In addition to the already-unemployed, the rest of us are also basing our purchasing and investing decisions on a real possibility of losing our own sole source of income. Jobs are the missing ingredient that the private sector can no longer reliably provide if left to its own resources.

2. This nation can also ill afford the luxury of increasing millions of laid-off workers collecting unemployment-compensation, while sitting idle and contributing nothing to the economy.

3. The prospect of deficit spending without foreseeable end carries with it far too much negative baggage to ever provide the sorely needed catalyst for a renewed positive mindset.

4. The capacity of the federal government is not boundless, and it will lose the ability to change the course of events if it waits until unemployment levels reach an unmanageable level.

Conclusion: Able-bodied workers who find themselves unable to keep or find employment in the private sector should no longer receive unemployment checks, or welfare payments. They instead should be provided a meaningful job with a living-wage paycheck thereby restoring a workable level of full employment. From that point the private sector will regain its lost self-confidence, and maintain that positive mindset so long as the government continues to fill the unemployment gap as the economy goes up and down. A civilian workforce, advancing education, environmental and public-service needs, will not be a waste of money, but instead an appropriate investment in the future of following generations who will likely have to pay for the deficits created by this generation.

Location:

Instead of providing billions of dollars to the auto, banking, housing and other industries/institutions that have proven to the American people that the trickle down effect is not working…

How about the trickle up? Give the money to the American people who will spend it. If every household received $200,000 Americans would purchase cars (thus revising the auto industry), homes (thus reviving the housing industry) and purchase all the other things out there that would help revive our economy.

Lets face it, the people who got us into this mess are the last ones to get us out.

Location:

The current plan where you can claim as a deduction on your taxes the amount of sales tax you spend on a new car, does nothing. If you could deduct the amount of sales tax from your tax bill putting a limit of $1,500 would entice me to buy a car. Lets say the tax is $1,500, with the current plan, if you are in the 15% tax bracket you would save $225 on taxes. Not enough for me to buy a new car. $1,500 off the bottom line tax means I have to consume the goods. Sending us back $800 stimuli check, I will only put it into my savings until I need to spend it. We need to have people spend to create and save jobs, so you need something to reward the consumer for spending.

Location:

To incentivize private investors to partner with the government to buy distressed assets (as part of the government’s revamping of the bank bailout) any gain on those private investments should be tax free.

Location:

We need to pass a law which forces banks to do the following for 1 year for all Americans:

1. Lower the maximum home interest rate to 4%

2. Lower the maximum credit card & business loan rate to 8%.

3. Restore credit line limits to last year levels for individuals and small businesses if the borrower is current on payments.

This plan would be immediate, hugely stimulative, would allow responsible people and small business to work down debt, and most importantly would stop the argument about helping people who made bad decisions.

Location:

In regards to the current economical crisis, taking into account that a portion of the problem lies in the lack of confidence from all parties involved (Americans not confident in the economy = no consumption; banks not confident in quality of borrower = no lending), I suggest, as a small component of this stimulus package for the short term, the government’s active role in “fueling” and moderating the private sector to create “cooperatives” that consist of individuals or corporations that have the same need, or interest in a particular product or investment, create a pool of money that would “garantee” and make the payments towards the item of reference. Naturally, this non-for-profit would have “sweetners” to entice investors to participate. Confidence or the lack thereof, in the short term would “loosen”, sales of “large items” would start to move and the dynamics of economics would follow.

NYC, NY

Location: