10 Things I would do to turn the economy around

Discussion in 'Trading' started by sub0, Oct 10, 2008.

  1. sub0

    sub0

    Hopefully Bernake or George Bush are reading the Elite Trader forums because I'm going to lay down some knowledge. :p


    1. The first thing I would do is create an oversight/think tank comittee that the American people and Wall Street have faith in and trust. It would be a temporary team that would set out on reviving the U.S. economy and Wall Street. It would consist of Warren Buffet, George Soros, Charles Schwab and Peter Lynch to name a few or whoever else I could prop up there to appease the masses. I'd say look, these people are working on it right now. They will strengthen the dollar and help us fix the problem. Instant rally and faith restored to buy some time.

    2. I would hold every executive who screwed those companies over accountable. I would have them refund their bonuses back and/or cancel any golden parachutes being paid out back to the company. It would be used towards company debts. A separate oversight committee would be created to investigate them. Shareholder confidence would be partially restored. I'd maybe prop up Eliot Spitzer to head it up.

    3. I would hold a speech where I outline how some of the 700 billion will be spent. To start, I would instantly mention how the Lehman credit derravite unwinding burden will be cushioned with a portion of the money.

    4. Another portion of the 700 billion will be announced as being invested in the U.S. banks stocks. This will be done with a stipulation that the company does a buyback of stock directly from the government in the future, retiring the stock. No new stock will be issued, we will not dillute shareholder value.

    5. I would make a statement that we are working on legislation to update predatory lending. This will in turn protect Americans from the crisis hapenning again and protect Americans from having to take on the tax burden of other Americans who are caught in loans they cannot pay.

    6. Since most Americans now feel that 700 billion is money going down the drain, I would surprise them! I would use a portion of it more proactively to revive the economy. I would make an announcement first of a portion of it going directly to U.S. automakers to make fuel efficient cars and set a target goal that all car makers must reach for gas mileage standards. However now they will have the money to reach those goals and consumers will once again feel confident in our auto industry and in a lower dependency on foreign oil. With cars using less gas, gas prices will decline instantly on the news, this inturn helps revive our airline industry by reducing their energy costs, in turn lowering traveling costs as well and shipment costs for food and cargo.

    7. A portion of the 700 billion will also go towards improving our energy infrastructure, power grid. I wouldn't give the money to the energy companies directly however. I would instead give it to the banks who inturn give it to the power companies as special loans with very favorable terms. The power companies are not required to take the money as loans however if they do it's with favorable terms and tax benefits on the backend. We then have a push for alternative sources of energy/wind/solar to power homes and banks get a bump. We also see a decline in home energy costs. This will put more money back into the economy indirectly by consumer having more disposable income and will create more jobs through the exploration and development of new power plants. Hell I don't even care if it's Haliburton that builds the windmills.

    8. Another portion of the 700 would be used to proactively create jobs through the use of small business startup grants. It might be 10 billion of it in the form of $25,000 grants. Hell that's a lot of grants!

    9. I would put an indirect freeze on financial institutions filing bankruptcy. I would create a committee that they must first contact or go through that helps organize a buyout/merger instead of bankruptcy. A portion of the 700 billion will go towards making this transition smooth. I would let Americans know that is meant to help banks that need time to consolidate in the face of creditors.

    10. I would provide assurance to those that worry that the U.S. govt has become a printing press of U.S. dollars, that the 700 billion will be used as efficiently as possible with no intention of further amounts being needed. I would also assure Americans that the amount passed by congress is more than enough to cover it. I would also cutoff special loans to companies like Goldman and others and put an end to the corporate favoritism.

    *BONUS
    I would push for a database that made politicians more accountable by making their voting records more transparent. Each representative would have a public webpage documenting their voting record including earmarks. Campaign contributions would also be listed if over a certain amount. The database would start with the 2008 financial crisis bill and all those who had to attach earmarks on it before they'd approve it. There would be no voting on this, just like Bush instantly created a few departments, this will be a new department instantly created. The cost it saves taxpayers in earmarks will more than cover it's operation. Hell some of the 700 billion could be used to create the department.
     
  2. sub0

    sub0

    I should have posted this in the economics subforum...if a mod wants to move it.



    Also I'd like to hear what others think about my suggestions or what you'd do to fix the problem?

    I heard a commentator on the news say that there is no magic bullet to fix it but I think there is a way to straighten this all out. The problem is we don't have a government that people trust, Bush has the lowest approval rating and the feds answer to everything is to cut rates. Congress just prints money! No word of how it's spent, just print, print, print!