How do we fix the economy? That is a question that tens of millions of Americans are asking right now. Republicans are harshly criticizing the empty economic proposals being put forward by Barack Obama and the Democrats, but the Republicans don't seem to have any real solutions either. There is talk of cutting taxes a little bit more, reducing federal spending a little bit and getting rid of a few useless federal regulations but doing any of those things would essentially be like spitting into Niagara Falls - the effect would not really be noticeable at all. As this column has documented over and over and over, the economic and financial problems that we are facing are so enormous that radical solutions are needed. In essence, what we need is not an "economic bandage" or two - what we need is major reconstructive surgery. If dramatic action is not taken, our economy is going to completely collapse.
Is anything that Barack Obama is currently proposing going to help fix the economy? No, of course not. As I wrote about the other day, Obama's address to the nation was packed with empty promises and a whole lot of inspirational nonsense. There were no real solutions to the very real problems we are facing.
So is there anything that we could do to actually start fixing things?
Yes, but the solutions are radical. They would cause quite a bit of chaos. They would not be easy for people to accept.
But the truth is that our economy and our financial system have terminal cancer. If something radical is not done quickly we are going to lose the patient.
The following are 16 ideas that Barack Obama could have proposed if he actually wanted to fix the economy....
#1 We Must Shut Down The Federal Reserve
If you are not willing to accept this, you may as well not read the rest of the solutions. The truth is that the U.S. government will never be able to solve the national debt problem until the Federal Reserve is shut down. The U.S. government should nationalize all Federal Reserve assets and start issuing currency that is completely and totally debt-free.
Under such a system, it is conceivable that U.S. budget deficits could be eliminated entirely and that over time the entire U.S. government debt could be retired.
One of the biggest threats of going to such a system would be inflation, but remember, the United States has only had a major, ongoing problem with inflation since the Federal Reserve was created back in 1913. The U.S. dollar has lost well over 95 percent of its value since the Federal Reserve was created, and so it is hard to imagine that we would do even worse without the Federal Reserve.
In any event, it is the fundamental right of any sovereign nation to be able to issue and control its own currency. This right was given to the U.S. government by the U.S. Constitution and it is time for the U.S. government to reclaim that right.
#2 We Must End Trade With All Nations That Allow Their Citizens To Be Paid Slave Labor Wages Or That Do Not Respect Basic Human Rights
This would dramatically reduce the "outsourcing" of our jobs and our industries almost overnight. The truth is that it was never a good idea to put American workers in direct competition with hundreds of millions of workers that are making slave labor wages on the other side of the globe.
Trading with nations that have a similar wage structure to ours and that respect basic human rights (Canada, for example) is a very good thing. However, all of the "free trade" agreements that politicians from both parties have been pushing down our throats for decades are literally wrecking the U.S. economy.
Since 2001, over 42,000 factories have been shut down in the United States. This proposal would go a long way towards stopping the bleeding, and if some of these countries are willing to raise their wage levels significantly then we would be able to resume trade with them in the future on a much more level playing field.
#3 We Must Radically Reduce The Size Of The Federal Government
Our big, fat government is a big, fat drain on our economy. We have millions of paper pushers that don't contribute much of anything of real value.
Not only that, but some of the things that the U.S. government wastes money on are absolutely mind blowing. There is a reason why our founders insisted that we have a very limited government. It is time to get back to those principles.
The Congressional Budget Office is projecting that the U.S. government budget deficit for this year will be nearly $1.5 trillion.
Talk about ridiculous!
I estimate that we could easily cut the size of government in half without hampering how effective it is.
We could start by abolishing the Department of Education. After that, there are several dozen other government agencies and institutions which are worthy candidates for elimination.
#4 We Must Provide Temporary Jobs For The American People During The Economic Transition
If the Federal Reserve is shut down and the size of the federal government is cut in half, it would cause quite a bit of economic chaos. During this transition it will be important to help people survive.
Instead of just passing out a bunch of handouts, a better alternative would be getting the American people working on something constructive.
During this time, the U.S. government could use all of the untapped labor of the unemployed to build massive infrastructure projects.
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, we need to spend approximately $2.2 trillion on infrastructure repairs and upgrades just to bring our existing infrastructure up to "good condition".
So there is certainly a lot to do.
These jobs would just be temporary until new manufacturing facilities are set up and jobs in private industry are plentiful again.
Having the American people produce something of value is better than just handing them endless unemployment checks.
#5 We Must Ban All Short Selling
When you allow greedy individuals the opportunity to make lots of money by betting against the U.S. economy, it gives those individuals an incentive to make sure that those bets pay off.
Yes, this proposal is controversial, but it just makes sense. If people want to make money, it should be because a company is doing well and not because someone is failing.
#6 We Must Ban Virtually All Derivatives
Once upon a time, derivatives were for hedging risk, but that is not what they are primarily being used for anymore.
Now derivatives are being used to bet on almost anything that you can possibly imagine.
Our financial markets have been turned into a gigantic financial casino.
The derivatives bubble is somewhere in the neighborhood of one quadrillion dollars and it could burst at any moment.
These weapons of financial mass destruction must be banned.
#7 We Must Break Up The Big Wall Street Banks
The big Wall Street banks have far too much power and far too much control. They have come to dominate our entire financial system.
In a capitalist system, too much power concentrated in too few hands is not a good thing. The corruption that has gone on at many of these institutions is absolutely unbelievable.
These banks need to be broken up into much smaller pieces for the good of our country.
#8 We Must Initiate A Massive Law Enforcement Crackdown On Our Financial Markets
As noted above, the corruption that has been going on down on Wall Street has been absolutely sickening. We need a massive law enforcement crackdown on all of this fraud in order to restore faith in the financial system.
Just one small example of this corruption happened during the recent housing crash. Goldman Sachs sold mortgage-related securities that were absolute junk to trusting clients at vastly overinflated prices and then made huge profits betting against those exact same securities.
So do you think that Goldman Sachs or any of the other major players on Wall Street will ever receive more than a slap on the wrist for all the things that have gone on in recent years?
Of course they won't - unless the American people start demanding it.
#9 We Must Order U.S. Oil Companies To Use Untapped Oil Reserves In The United States And We Must Aggressively Develop Alternative Energy Sources
Right now, the price of oil is pushing up towards 100 dollars a barrel. If oil passes that mark, it is going to put tremendous inflationary pressure on the entire global economy.
Sadly, there is no need for such a high price for oil. There are vast, vast reserves of oil that are virtually untapped inside the United States. These are mostly in the western states and up in Alaska. We have enough to supply very cheap oil to the entire country for decades.
The U.S. government needs to order these oil companies to quit playing games and to start pumping this oil.
However, it is undeniable that we also need to develop alternative energy sources. In fact, we should set up a "Manhattan Project"-style team to aggressively pursue this goal.
In the past, U.S. oil and car companies have blatantly repressed alternative energy projects. The U.S. government should tell U.S. corporate executives that if they ever even think of doing such a thing again that they will be locked away so fast that it will make their heads swim.
#10 We Must Stop Paying Farmers Not To Grow Food
Instead of paying farmers not to grow food, we need to find ways to encourage them to grow as much food as possible. A horrible global food crisis is coming and we are going to need huge stockpiles of everything.
#11 We Must Secure The U.S. border With Mexico
Illegal immigration costs the U.S. economy tens of billions of dollars (conservatively) every single year. We need to secure the border and make sure that all of our immigrants are coming through the "front door".
#12 We Must Shut Down The IRS
Did you know that the United States has only had an income tax for less than 100 years? For most of our history, the U.S. government got along just fine without taxing personal income.
The IRS is massive waste of time, energy and resources. There are many alternatives that could easily replace the income tax and the ridiculous tax code that we have right now.
For example, a flat tax or a national sales tax could both potentially work, although both have their problems.
Personally, I am convinced that we could have a system that would not require any taxation of income by the U.S. government whatsoever.
Just imagine how much time, how much energy and how many resources would be saved!
#13 We Must Slash Red Tape And The Miles Of Ridiculous Regulations
In the United States today, you almost have to be insane to start up a new business. When you consider all sources of taxation, U.S. businesses face one of the highest overall levels of taxation in the entire world. Not only that, but U.S. businesses face miles and miles of absolutely ridiculous regulations and red tape.
As I wrote about in a previous article, if you want to do business in the United States today, you better be prepared for a regulatory nightmare....
If you plan to start a business in America today, you better get a hold of a good lawyer. In fact, if you want to be safe, you better get a small army of lawyers. You are going to need an expert on the federal regulations that apply to your business, you are going to need an expert on the state regulations that apply to your business and you are going to need an expert on the local regulations that apply to your business.
There are going to literally be thousands of regulations that apply to any business started inside the United States today. There is no way that you will ever be able to learn them all. Not only that, but the truth is that your lawyers will only be aware of a small fraction of them.
Until the regulatory environment in this country dramatically changes, companies are going to continue to be motivated to leave the United States.
#14 We Must Conduct A Massive Law Enforcement Crackdown On The Health Care Industry
It should not cost $30,000 for a one day stay in the hospital in this country.
The truth is that the American people are being ripped off big time.
We need to conduct a massive law enforcement crackdown on all the big hospitals and all the big health care companies.
We need to conduct a massive law enforcement crackdown on all the big health insurance companies.
We need to conduct a massive law enforcement crackdown on all the big pharmaceutical companies.
We also need massive medical malpractice reform.
Not only that, we also should end the monopoly of the AMA immediately. We need to reintroduce honest, legitimate competition back into the medical system.
In addition, we need to make sure that natural health practitioners are able to compete on a fair and equal basis in this country.
As I have written about previously, the health care industry in the United States has become all about making as much money as possible.
That must change.
#15 We Must Stop Trying To Police The World
We will always need a very strong military force, but it is absolutely ridiculous that we have troops stationed in approximately 130 different countries today.
This is a tremendous drain on our national resources and we are spread way too thin militarily. It is about time that many off these other countries started protecting themselves for a while.
#16 We Must Pull Out Of The United Nations And We Must Dramatically Reduce Foreign Aid
The United Nations is a massive waste of time, energy and resources. We should have pulled the plug on that ridiculous globalist organization long before now.
In addition, we need to dramatically cut back on foreign aid until we get our own house in order. We should only help the most desperate nations until we get our own economy back on track.
#17 We Must End All Of The Ridiculous Police State Measures Which Are Chasing Tourists Away From Our Soil
Tourism is a very, very important industry to the United States. But today, all of the incredibly intrusive police state measures that the past few administrations have introduced are chasing millions of tourists away and are ruining our national reputation.
For example, there are many cultures around the globe where it would be unthinkable to have anonymous security goons feel up the private areas of women and children before they are allowed to get on an airplane. Rather than put up with such nonsense, millions of tourists are simply going to choose to spend their money somewhere else.
#18 We Must Seize The Assets Of The Ultra-Wealthy Individuals And International Banks That Have Been Committing Fraud Against The U.S. Government For Decades
Once the Federal Reserve is shut down, it will be important to hold those that have been defrauding the U.S. government responsible. Once a full audit of the Federal Reserve is conducted and evidence of criminal activity is uncovered, those involved should be arrested and all of their assets should be seized and frozen pending trial.
If the things that have been going on inside the Federal Reserve are ever fully exposed, it will make the whole Bernie Madoff scandal look like a nickel and dime operation.
But that is why there has never been a full, comprehensive audit of the Federal Reserve since it was created back in 1913. The American people are not supposed to see what happens inside that institution.
Unfortunately, even though economic times are a little rough, things are still good enough that the vast majority of Americans are not ready to start demanding the kind of radical changes listed above.
Not only that, but the kind of radical changes listed above would be fought against by the establishment every step of the way. Those with money and power are not going to step aside just because "justice" demands it.
What is probably going to happen is that the "establishment politicians" that the establishment has bought and paid for are just going to continue to propose half-baked solutions to our problems as this country continues to tumble towards economic oblivion.
So what do all of you readers think? Is there hope that someday we will see some real economic solutions implemented in this country?
Other things he could have said:
1) Nationalize the Media monopolies.
2) End illegal immigration.
3) USMC Beach landing at Gaza to bring aid to Palestinians.
4) Remove all dual citizens from all public offices.
5) Stop urging us to war against peaceful nation Iran to satisfy non-peaceful nations.
6) Cary for Pres 2012! Under campaign slogan, “I can fix this if they dont assassinate me first”
Re: #10 – “We must stop paying farmers not to grow food”
We’re paying farmers to NOT grow food?!?!?
Really? I had no idea.
Their freaking JOB is to grow food!! They’re farmers! It’s what they do!
Suggestion: Pay bankers not to run banks.
Make no mistake!! This country is in its last days. It will not President we’ll have. That’s extreme but very real.
Speaks now the great Jedi Knight, Yoda:
“The Fed is evil. Evil the Fed is. Hmmm.
Created from evil intentions, and lives and prospers through evil. Hmmm.
Balance of trade, there must be. U.S vs. China trade, there is no balance. A disruption of the Force, I do feel there is.
Obama is turning to the Dark Side. Careful he must be, or lost our cause it shall become. Darth Sarah may soon rule over the American universe… Hmmm.
Silence! Obi-Wan Ron Paul, it is your turn now! The Force is strong with him. Here your light saber is. Fight the good fight, you shall!”
What are we gonna say?
Power to the people, no delay!
Let everybody see
In order to fight the powers that be!
Fight the Power!!!!
(Public Enemy, 1988)
I believe the Government must immediately cut Medicaid,Social Security and Defense. They are really the 800 pound Godzilla in the room that nobody from both dumb and dumber parties would ever have the ball to mention them because it would mean an end to their political career!
The problem with your article is that you are all for freedom and limited government. Unless of course you disagree with something, then you are all about “Banning”, “shutting down”, “A Massive Law Enforcement Crackdown”, and “siezing assets of the ultra wealthy”. You want all of that at the same time you want to “End All Of The Ridiculous Police State Measures”.
So basically you want no government or big business unless it is something you agree with then it is ok to have total dominance.
How is that any different than any totalitarian government that has ever existed? They gave freedom to those they liked and shut down what they thought was “against the good of the state”.
“There are vast, vast reserves of oil that are virtually untapped inside the United States. These are mostly in the western states and up in Alaska. We have enough to supply very cheap oil to the entire country for decades.”
this is an outright lie, its widely known that the US is past its peak of crude production and accepted knowledge that there are no Globally significant reserves left inside the US borders. for example the ANWAR reserve depending on who you talk to has between 300 days and 2 years of oil used at current rates assuming it is all pumped and only used by the USA. a long way from decades of cheap oil.
Although I do agree mostly with this, some of the points are really unpractical ..Consider #2 for example…doing this is just impossible…this is in no way contributing to the economic problems we are currently seeing…what you are saying is running away from competition…do we really want this?
also, whats wrong with #5?…its just a trade in reverse order…how does it affect the economy?
Wow Mike that’s quite a list. I’m not sure they can do one of those things, let alone more than one. They just don’t have the guts.
While I agree with a lot of the piece I must totally disagree with short selling. Efficient markets really do need the short side. In fact it was short selling that exposed the whole banking ponzi scheme and allowed us to intervene. Absent that tool we might be a lot worse off. Don’t buy into the hype that short selling had a damn thing to do with collapse. The collapse was brought on by fraudulent loans, crooked ratings, and a whole host of other unregulated activities- while the SEC was watching porn on the computers.
I have caught a lot of crooked ceo’s spinning tales and shorted their lying asses…which is exactly what should happen.
I agree, but what are the chances even one of these things will ever happen?
I thought so.
Hope everyone has a survival plan…going to need it soon.
After the coming economic collapse, the US will need a new operating plan.
#1 Politicians have proven that they do not have the discipline necessary to manage a money printing press.
With a Gold Standard, the Federal Reserve is not needed and should be eliminated.
#2 We should consider the global environment also.
#3 / 4 Forget about temporary jobs financed by more debt. We need to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US to offset a reduction in the size of government.
#5 Banning Margin Accounts might be a better action. Short selling is not just a greed issue but is also a valuable money management tool and helps with market liquidity.
#6 If you eliminate all risk hedging tools, you may get a more unstable economy. Derivatives need to be better regulated.
#7 Banks should not have a license to steal (with the help of the Federal Reserve). After the Federal Reserve is eliminated, banks will shrink in size.
#8 First we need to crackdown on our politicians.
#9 Nationalizing oil companies has not worked in other countries so why would it work in the US?
#10 We need to support all industries that create wealth (agriculture, energy, manufacturing, and mining).
#11 / 12 / 13 Agree
#14 We need to create a new health care system based on disease prevention (diet and exercise) rather than disease maintenance (drugs and surgery). Health care insurance companies should operate as non profit organizations owned by policy holders.
#15 First we have to convince Americans that it is not their moral and patriotic duty to police the world.
#16 Agree
#17 We need to quit trashing the vacations and tourism of Americans.
#18 First we need to crackdown on our politicians.
Not one peep out of Obama to bring back MANUFACTURING JOBS to America from China and India.
Let the American worker stay on unemployment while the White House and Congress fiddle with deficits and debts numbers. It’s all a big sham.
1. End all foreign wars.
2. End all foreign aid. No exceptions.
3. Stop H1-B and L-1 Visa programs. Give six months notice to visa holders to leave.
4. Implement nationwide 10K fine per illegal found working in restaurants, construction etc.
5. End all GSE’s (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac)
6. Dismantle the FED. Cancel all debt created and owed to FED. Treasury will issue real money, not FRN.
7. No Bank Bailouts, implement Glass-Steagal. Too big to fail? Break apart and sell the pieces.
8. Outlaw high frequency trading by using a Tobin tax or simply having the SEC do it’s job and call it what it is, front running. Regulate derivatives.
9. Outlaw Lobbying, Including foreign countries lobbying in the US.
10. Put tariffs on all imported goods based on what that item would cost if made in the USA.
11. Marshal Plan for advanced energy development.
12. Get rid of the IRS and implement national sales tax or FAIR tax or better yet NO TAX.
13 Get rid of the war on drugs implementing Portugal style drug laws.
14. Reform health care by breaking big pharma y / AMA / FDA monopoly. E.G. outlaw aspertame etc
15. Secure borders and ports
16. Abolish TSA, Education Department, Commerce Department all the the other useless money sucking departments.
Two problems:
1) Absolutely NONE — Zero! — of this is possible as long as political elections are funded by the Fat Cats. Only public funding of campaigns will eliminate the bribes that flow.
2) A flat tax or a national sales tax are BOTH regressive as hell, and will shift the funding of our government to mostly the lower wage earners.
Jack Lohman
http://MoneyedPoliticians.net
I’ve said it before and I will say it again.
We know we have enormous structural issues in the US and we, under the guidance of a thoroughly corrupt Federal Government, will not wake up until the train wreck is upon us and this country is ripped back to Feudalism.
All of these issues need to be fixed, and fixed fast, but they will not be done from the Fed level. If, by chance, the Feds do try to act, they will as if they have 20 years to fix the problem.
All could be fixed rather quickly, however, if US citizens woke up and starting petitioning their governors for a state vote to secede from the the world’s largest Banana Republic before it is to late.
Once the States secede, all of the issues above are fixed in one mighty day. Once they secede, they may once again create a new Fed Government that acts in a manner of interest in our citizens rather than a thinly disguised version of the mafia.
The whole world sees what a joke our country, and particularly our current sitting President, has become. We are the laughing stock of the world at the moment. It is only a matter of time before the Dollar is divorced as a world reserve currency as other countries are not going to continue to allow thieves and gangsters to handle the world reserve. Once this day comes, the US will crash harder than a rock.
God help us all.
End the Fed and the federal government. Default on all debts public and private (the Bible calls this the “year of Jubilee”. But wait, market forces will do all of this. Just be patient.
Good article. Austerity will come but your offering of ways to mitigate its effects are sound, particularly with regard to your temporary plan for employing folks in infrastructure maintenance. We definitely need to re-industrialize so that our young people who are being encouraged to obtain an education will be able to utilize that knowledge in a productive manner.
I enjoy reading (and sometimes referencing) the articles on this blog. While I don’t always agree with what is said, I have found them generally to be good ‘food for thought’ articles. In fact, when being interviewed only yesterday on an ‘Investors Network’ I was asked what my five favorite blogs were and I included this one. All that said, this article for my taste is far to extreme in presenting ideas that simply are impractical, and not going to happen in any event. I say, not up to your usual interesting standard!
“Those with money and power are not going to step aside just because “justice” demands it”.
Therein lies the rub though, does it not? One has to question just to what lengths “those with money and power” will go to have their will and vision for the world fulfilled. Paul Warburg, whom I am sure many have read about, was a man from a rich banking family, who was an early activist for central banking in America, and later became the director of the Council on foreign Relations at its founding in 1921, infamously said the following,
“We shall have World Government, whether or not we like it. The only question is whether World Government will be achieved by conquest or consent.”
I try to remain as objective as is possible. I try also not to be an alarmist but these words have an ominous undertone and pose an obvious threat to any freedom thinking peoples. When it comes to conspiracy theories, like some of those surrounding the Council on Foreign Relations and One World Government, there again, I try to remain objective. But in my humble way of thinking, when a statement like Mr. Warburg’s is coupled with the events of his time, on up through the events of our times, one has to wonder what the hell is really going on. Throw in the advances of technology (i.e. the ability to create illusions, worldwide surveillance and control capabilities and weaponology), then add in Naomi Klein’s, Shock Doctrine and Rahm Emanuel’s “never let a good crisis go to waste” government. One could reasonably question whether there really is a nefarious cabal of ‘people’ bent on total control regardless if it is “by conquest or consent”. There are a few things however that appear to be certain in all of this, whatever we are transitioning into is and will be even more painful and callous towards us little people, yet very profitable for a handful of exclusive “people” on earth.
YOU CAN BET EVERYTHING YOU OWN ON THIS PREDICTION OF MINE:
We will continue down the path we are on (because we all want to) until the whole thing blows up big time and ends very very badly. Why? Because that is just plain old human nature. Everyone wants “cuts” made, but always to “the other guy”. Nobody is willing to “bite the hand that feeds them”. If you are 70 years old and receiving medicare and social security, would you suggest immediately ending medicare and social security? If you are a college student would you suggest cutting/ending govt college loans and grants? If you work in the defense industry would you suggest cutting the defense budget significantly? If you receive food stamps, or unemployment benefits, or some other type of money/benefit from the govt, would you suggest drastically reducing or ending those progams? If you work in US Dept of Education, would you suggest doing away with the Dept of Education? If you worked for the Fed Reserve or a Big Bank would you suggest ending/breaking-up those? F no!!!! No one is going to bite the hand that feeds them. So, this is all going to go on and on and on until it all ends badly. Nothing gets changed because no one wants it changed, no one is willing to take the personal hit to effect the changes needed. Get real people – cut all your bull***t. A TOTAL SLOW MOTION ECONOMIC TRAIN-WRECK COLLAPSE is coming because our human nature refuses to do anything substantative to stop it. Like Michael says – right Michael?
Mel, your comment is a perfect example of the dumbing odwn of America. Social Security has paid its own way, and still does. The federal government has stolen trillions of dollars of excess paid in social security taxes over the past 40 years. The social security system is not part of the deficit or debt. It is up to the federal government to repay that money. Ah, but that is the problem. The federal government is bankrupt. Repaying the monies stolen from social security will require more in taxes or more borrowing. Still, it is money that belongs to social security recipients. REPAY NOW! By the way, this is a perfect example of why the US Congress is a pile of cowards and fools.
Unfortunately, these days getting elected pretty much requires soliciting campaign contributions from the very big-business interests that are running this country into the ground. Which means that politicians are beholden to those big-business interests to the despite of the people they’re supposed to be actually representing.
IOW, we’re rapidly moving towards the Standard Cyberpunk Future in which elections are a sham and representative government a mere facade for the greedy, callous corporate entities accountable to no one, who are actually running things.
The 16 ideas are the obvious solutions to the few Americans remaining who have not become accustomed to the way things are, or who can’t conceive of anything else because they don’t know how things used to be in the U.S. – not perfect, but at least the Wall Street Criminals would have been thrown in jail.
Remember Michael Miliken? In comparison to Lloyd Blankfien, Jamie Deimon, Hank Pawson, Ben Bernank, and little timothy geithner (couldn’t care less about spelling the names correctly or capitalization) he should sue the Government for false imprisonment.
Even though Richard Nixon was not presidential material due to his paranoia, etc. – he had to resign or chose impeachment? For what???!!!!
Two Mobsters barge into a Mom and Pop store on the corner packing heat and grab the owner by the collar and give him a slap or two across the face when he objects to paying the protection money. That is now the U.S. but on a larger scale – making a fast and easy unearned buck for the very few and the hell with everyone else. Why not if there is no law enforcement to prevent it, (or they control the law enforcement and use it to control us) or even any whimper of protest. Of course the few will take advantage of the weakness of the many and go straight for the jugular. They will start turning on each other when the herd thins out.
Barry the bull shit presenting teleprompter reading messenger boy did not mention any of the above. We have now joined the Third World complete with the “Leader” speaking to the crowd in the street below from his second story veranda. Everybody show up and listen up to the speech and go home happy – it is all true.
None of this will happen, of course. So let’s talk about a solution that could work.
The crux is this: No matter what your beliefs are and no matter who is in office in DC, and no matter what action they take or don’t take – at the end of the day – under the threat of penalty or prison, we will all continue to pay federal income taxes.
Thus the federal government has no incentive to change.
Thus any solution must include either a) giving them that incentive, or b) taking away their ability to tax us indiscriminately.
History has shown that “a” is not really an option, so let us consider how to accomplish “b”.
Very simply, state-by-state, each legislature should pass a simple one-page law redirecting all federal income tax collected in their state to the state legislature.
The legislature would then fund the federal budget on a line-by-basis, based on their interpretation of the constitutionality of each budget item. The amount forwarded, on a line-by-line basis, would be what the state determined, per capita, to be necessary.
Any leftover funds would be returned to the people in the form of state revenue.
As such, each state would become self-funding, and therefore would stand or fail on its own. Based on the state’s decision-making performance the state would attract (or drive away) both people and businesses. In short, the states would have to COMPETE for revenue, something the federal government currently does not have to do.
This approach would limit the federal government to its constitutional mandates, allow states to regain their sovereign, local decision making powers, and force the states to govern from a more moderate stance (meaning if they leaned too far one or the other people and businesses would leave).
From economic issues to social issues, giving people the opportunity to choose where and what their tax dollars are utilized for will drive every decision each state makes.
This is a solution that be started locally in one state and then bloom from there. Of course this would end up in the SCOTUS and could possibly lead to succession in a worst-case scenario, but with where we stand now and looking at the ideas proposed in the article above are we that far away from succession today?
There are obvious common sense solutions to a sociopathic government. The laws of nature have been ignored.
Ending the FED sounds populist, but the fed is just another agent leeching on the economy in order to satisfy the lust of government to spend more than it takes in with revenues. Once the US went off the gold standard in 1971 (because the government did not raise taxes needed to pay for the vietnam war/military industrial complex) the dollar got trashed. Once we crossed the rubicon the government went on a spending binge and the corruption from mainlining fiat money has gone unabated since. The obvious solution is to restore the convertibility of money to tangible commodities. Gold and silver being the most obvious – they are tangible commodities – but any tangible commodity that can be stored would do. A fiat currency, as long as the “CPI” is held at zero, would be best.
Fair trade instead of “free” trade is another issue. Trade deficits can not long endure without destroying the wealth of a nation. The US has been living off the strength of the dollar as a reserve currency to paper over its trade deficits. The current state of our union is that huge amounts of dollars are held by foreign interests and it can trash our national economy within minutes. There is a simple belated solution, impose tariffs on all imports until trade deficits are balanced. Unfortunately such a move is highly unlikely with the existing crop of mal-educated “economists”, let alone the interests of the sociopaths that drive our national policies.
The costly military industrial complex has been a huge waste, the inept people running it have lost interest in protecting their own base of support – the power of the american economy. God help us as military technology is being turned against its own people to preemptively deal with potential “domestic terrorists”. History shows that such actions have NEVER worked. Here we are 3000+ years since the dawn of written records and we _still_ have open lines of communications, now spanning the globe. Of all the warmongering tyrants throughout the ages none have succeeded. Patriots beat tyrants, always.
The wealth of our nation has been trashed. The solutions are simple but we have been going down the wrong path for over 40 years. Instead of exporting the principles of freedom to the world we have gone along with turning our world into a crack house where everyone is trying to get high shooting up depreciating fiat money.
Agree with everything except #10. The oil in the Bakken oil field, and the western shale oil, and the tar sands, is difficult and expensive to produce. This also makes production slow. Peak oil has never claimed that we are out of oil – we are not. But the easy to produce oil is past peak production. Otherwise, great article!
Common sense has to prevail! Balance budgets, lower taxes, slash spending at all levels, cut debt/deficits, bankruptcy for the bankrupt, what else can we do? We have to enact common sense solutions. Our country cannot continue with this mentality of borrow and spend our way to prosperity! We borrow from others, only to buy what they produce. This is crazy, can’t they see the end coming?
Also to add to the list-TAX THE RICH AND SPREAD THE WEALTH!
Alternative plan:
Reform the Byzantine Tax Code
Our tax code contains 80,000 pages. Compliance costs us $500 billion a year. It punishes production and subsidizes wasteful consumption.
We should scrap the corporate income tax, personal income tax, and payroll taxes and replace them with a national sales tax. This would fatten our paychecks, lower the costs of producing products in the U.S., tax imported products at the same rate as products produced at home, and make America the best place to open a business and create jobs in the world
Fix the Broken School System
We spend more money per capita than anyone except Switzerland on schools, yet our schools are about worst performing in the developed world. Everyone who has looked at the problem from the Gates Foundation to the liberal producer of the movie “Waiting for Superman” agrees on how to fix the problems. Schools need more autonomy, including the ability to fire bad teachers and reward good ones.
Part of the reform has to include what Japan and Germany do — change the high school curriculum for kids who aren’t going to college so that they can learn a trade instead of vegging out in film appreciation classes.
Reform the Healthcare system
The U.S. spends a greater percentage of GDP on healthcare than any other nation. On the one hand, we do a great job at medical innovation and providing people with options. Conversely, our system of employer paid health insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid don’t provide any incentives for people to use the system frugally, which is why costs have escalated out of control.
Singapore has figured this out. They spend the lowest amount per capita on healthcare in the world and have among the best outcomes in the world. They’ve done it by putting people in charge of their own health expenditures by creating a nation of healthcare shoppers. We should emulate them to the degree possible.
Bring the troops home
The Cold War is over and the Soviet Union is kaput, yet we still have troops stationed in Europe, Japan, and South Korea. Who are we defending them against? Yeah, there is a crank in North Korea, but South Korea has the wealth and technological capability to defend themselves. The Afghan war also demonstrates a completely obsolete view of the world. al Queda is not a state with a defined territory — they can pack up and move anytime they want. Getting bogged down in a ground war there is counterproductive and costly ($100 billion a year now).
Get our fiscal house in order
The government has been on a drunken orgy of spending for 10 years. It’s gotten worse of the last 4 years. Government borrowing is a current impediment to economic recovery. Long-term, it endangers the future of the country.
Some of the spending is duplicative. A lot of it is not needed. Why does the government subsidize sugar and mohair, but not carrots and celery? Why are there over 100 welfare programs that transfer money from one group of people to another? Why are their over 30 federal job training programs? Why are we subsidizing relatively wealthy people who have corporate pensions or annuities from retirement savings? All of these things and more can be either eliminated or streamlined in a small handful of programs.
Reform how we regulate businesses
Every year, countless government agencies produce tens of thousands of pages of new, complex, and often contradictory regulations. The cost of compliance is extraordinary, including the social costs of businesses moving production overseas to escape these regulatory burdens. There has to be a better way than this.
One approach would be to define some broad rules around fraud, negligence and property rights and let the courts deal with issues through litigation. You pollute your neighbor’s air — lawsuit. You bring a dangerous drug to market — class action suit. You get the idea.
There are many other approaches. The main thing to remember is that the current regulatory regime is hurting our competitiveness in the global economy. We can do it better.
Each point hits the nail on the head, but I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for any one of them to be considered. WE ARE DOOMED!!!!
Thomas Jefferson:
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from
time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
It is its natural manure.”
One other BIG point you missed. REFORM THE LEGAL SYSTEM!!! America is the most litigous country in the world, with predatory lawsuits, and contingency lawyers, who all suffer no pain if their frivolous lawsuits fail. In other countries LOSER PAYS, and people are not nearly as motivated to sue everyone front, right and center.
These lawsuits have increased the costs of EVERYTHING for EVERYONE, and particularly in the medical industry, and are a major hamper to so much business, that this is another reason people don’t want to start a business in the US. Plus the court systems is also so corrupt in most places, that there is no longer any such thing as JUSTICE!
Should be obvious enough now even to his most devoted followers that he not only does not care to fix it, but he may have more plans to undo it the rest of the way. I just wish that the Repubs. in the House would stop acting like the minority. We didn’t put them in there to “get along” and “reach across the isle”. We put them in to put the smack-down on them and their crazy ideas.
Your #5 idea, banning short-selling, shows you to be a clueless noob who has not done his homework. You can easily find dozens of articles explaining why this is a stupid idea and how the blaming of short-sellers for various problems is an act of scapegoating.
One of the useful functions of financial markets in a capitalist system is called price discovery. If you eliminate short-selling you destroy this market efficiency.
There *is* something called NAKED short-selling, which is and should be illegal, but the SEC allows large Wallstreet banks to do it. Perhaps that is where you go your confused idea.
JPM’s naked short-selling of silver is currently the subject of lawsuits that would not be necessary if various Federal agencies were doing there job.
#9, referring to “vast, vast reserves of oil that are virtually untapped inside the United States” is a ridiculous 2010 Republican Palinesque talking point that is unsupported by scientific research. Yes there is a fair amount of oil scattered around Alaska, but in hundreds of separated deposits that are difficult and expensive to access and extract. “Force” companies to perform extractions that they have no economic incentive to do? Seriously man, get a grip.
#11? Another area you have not done your homework. “Securing the border” is another ridiculously expensive and impractical Republican talking point. Much cheaper to regulate employment of non-citizens and to keep non-citizens from extracting benefits they have not earned. It’ll be easy to reduce the demand for Mexican immigrants by eliminating minimum wage at a time when millions are looking for whatever work they can get. They might be shitty jobs but they’ll be better than FEMA work camps.
Really, every politician KNOWS these things need to be done in order to restore the Republic.
But like children in charge of the cookie jar, they aren’t likely to deprive themselves or their buddies the goodies received by helping themselves. After all… the parents (American People)turn a blind-eye to the sneaky deeds done by the children!
Unless or until the parents crack down and start spanking, and removing the cookie jar from reach, NOTHING will change.
We should at least stard with immigration, once we get all those people out then we can clearly see where we stand, right now we are paying so much just to upkeep all the immigrant, the special needs of someone that should not be here in the first place, grave, grave injustice to our hard working men and women
Hey Mel-The people who collect SS are the ones who have paid in their whole lives…NOT FAIR.
People who never paid into SS should not get it (illegal aliens, especially).
Farmers who get paid to not grow food…are not FARMERS!! Yes the food crisis is coming. Everyone needs to grow their own food as much as possible (yes, off topic, I know)..
End the FED – obviously – it is illegal per the Constitution – off with the heads of those who debased our currency – this is the highest treason.
TARIFFS on foreign imports…
ALL WONDERFUL IDEAS.
Kill the beast. The Federal government is the beast. It has grown out of the cage the Constitution was intended to be – decades ago…
YOU ARE ALL SLAVES –
http://www.gnosticliberationfront.com/you_are_all_slaves.htm#you%20are%20all%20slaves
The whole things are doomed to collapse, then we can reconstruct the whole thing with these 15 ideas. As long as those two parties R-D running this country nothing will be done. As such, let the whole thing just collapse! There is no easy solution but press the reset button at the whole system. Flush them all and start all over! As I said before, there will be casualties of civil war in USA, but in the long run, we THE PEOPLE will have a better future and for our next generation to come. Let´s rebuild what The United Sates of America really stands for because, right now, The United States of America is a sham. These drastic and radical changes are doomed to happen in USA. Just for the past week, a few countries are in total chaos; people are angry and frustrated at their Governments, corruption . . . . and economy everywhere. The whole world is total chaos, and I can put this as positively as possible, for the better future for all mankind! If we don´t make the serious efforts in out time to change the way things are, then we are doomed to parish!
Unfortunately not one of these proposals will be considered. Why? Big banks and big corporations own this country and call the shots. The citizens, better described as peasants, do not. The only law enforcement action taken will be against the peasants, not the ruling elite.
“#2 We Must End Trade With All Nations That… Do Not Respect Basic Human Rights” – Considering what has been done here with the Bill of Rights, habeas corpus, etc., we might not be able to trade with ourselves. Think about the Department of Homeland Security, TSA, Gitmo, Bagram prison, the US sending prisoners to secret, wretched prisons in foreign countries, illegal wiretapping, kidnapping, the embrace of torture, a president that claims the right to imprison, torture and execute any US citizen solely based on his word (yes, it’s true – you can look it up)… We’re hardly models of virtue.
“Outsourcing” of jobs and our industries – this didn’t just happen. The corporations that run our government wrote and had the bills passed that made it possible. They will not relinquish this power.
Ditto for what happened on Wall Street, and will happen again. They bought the government and will dictate what the laws will be.
The politicians themselves will never agree to shutting down the IRS. They find it very useful for attacking their enemies. Additionally, tax lawyers, tax accountants, CPA firms, etc., rely on the existence of the IRS for their own livelihood. Without an IRS, they might have to find a new line of work.
“Police The World”? We are not the world’s police force; instead, we are the world’s bullies. Those on the receiving end of US foreign policy see this very clearly. The US uses its military to support corrupt regimes, occupy lands with valuable natural resources (on behalf of corporations that want access to them), etc. “Defend the country”? Are you kidding? Other countries would love to see US forces gone, along with the muggings, drug use, rapes, burglaries, drunken brawls, theft, DUIs, etc., that invariably accompany US forces. (Don’t tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about. I was in the military myself for many years in other countries and saw this first-hand.) We are in other countries for ourselves, not for others.
“Foreign Aid” – in reality mainly bribes to dictators to get what those running the US government want. It’s crazy that we borrow massive amounts of money to give it away to others.
Back in September I wrote a simular article. Most called me a nut job. The fact is if we don’t get radical, dramatic, deep cut in the size and scope of government we will have a complete collapse of the United States.
No one and nothing changes until forced to change. Forced. We are getting closer and closer, but we haven’t hit bottom yet. When we have lost all, we will change. Stupid? Yes. But look around you – stupid is everywhere.
1. Bring back the Fairness Doctrine.
2. If Republicans have any hope of saving face, they have to have Phil Gramm call and appear in Congress to reinstate Glass-Steagall. No ifs, ands, or buts; otherwise, Republicans are finished as a political party.
3. Republicans need to be confronted that the Bush tax cuts are still in place; they do not work to create jobs in the US. It’s everyone’s patriotic duty to call Republicans liars to their face. Keep them out of the decision making process. Kudos to any operatives keeping the conflict going between the Republicans and the teabaggers. Republican rule for the past how many years, with the exception of Carter and Clinton, have ruined this country for the US middle and lower classes.
The beauty of America (enjoy it while you still can!) is that our citizens can agree to disagree. But I think we all agree, we have big time issues that need to be fixed. They need immediate attention. Washington and Congress could care less. So I guess it’s up to us.
The house is burning down. The Democrats say, “Use a fire hose to put it out!” The Republicans say, “No, let’s use fire repressing foam instead!” Libertarians would offer a fire extinguisher or two. Others argue if enough people pi$$ on the flames, that’ll put the fire out. What about the people – We The People – who are trapped inside, and can’t get out??
Let them bicker, debate and argue all they want. Meanwhile, the whole country burns to the ground.
AMERICA NEED TO REPENT!!If My People, Which Are Called by My Name, Shall Humble Themselves
Then Will I Hear From Heaven
AMERICA NEEDS TO REPENT!!If My People, Which Are Called by My Name, Shall Humble Themselves
Then Will I Hear From Heaven
In response to Mel: Social Security did NOT add one dime to the deficit. see: National Committee to Preserve Social Security: ncpssm.org Workers paid for it. The REASON they want to cut benefits is because Wall Street wants the money & the Federal government DOESN’T WANT TO PAY BACK THE MONEY THEY TOOK!
Also see: truthout.org
alternet.org
couragecampaign.org
Dean Baker cepr.net
end of response to Mel
I don’t agree 100% with all everything that’s said here. Especially about oil.
Congress KNOWS about HHO to run our vehicles on. It’s been around for a long time, in fact more than 50 years. It’s inexpensive to build the generator, around $100 for passenger car, it works for vehicles that use gasoline, propane & diesel.
It’s used now in torches, some earth moving vehicles, & can even be used for boats.
If you’ve never heard of HHO is because the OIL INDUSTRY doesn’t want you to know about it.
It OXYHYDROGEN & turns WATER & electricity into fuel along WITH the gas or other fuel you use now. It is safe because it only generates fuel when you are driving, so it’s powerful like hydrogen but as stable as water.
see:halfwaterhalfgas.com or Nexis Magazine Oct.-Nov.2006 “A Water-Fueled Car” by Carl Cella
I agree with your analogy 100% your plan would work. After reading the comments here the problem is all the different angles that everybody takes. This proves that the country is so divided that no one will agree on a good plan, as a matter of fact this division will destroy our once great country. America is such a cesspool of greed, corruption, and war mongering, that America is doomed. I expect the collapse of America sooner than later, all the different races will group together, Black, White, Latino, Asian, US government, and others. These groups will engage in bloody civil war. Eventually several individual states will be established. Whites in the North west to east, Latinos in the south west and Florida, Blacks in the central deep south, Asians in the far west. The US Government will be defeated as individuals defect to their own tribes. Whites and Asians will eventually join together for the common good, and establish a new government as the founding fathers envisioned. Blacks in the deep south will live in squalor and destitution similar to Haiti, Detroit,New Orleans, and Africa. Latinos will live in a constant state of corruption and violence similar to Mexico and South America. New borders will be established to reflect these new states and the borders will be secure. This is the way I see it
The do-nothing politicians (and still get paid big bucks) are very sharp. They will not do a thing to correct the problems, but because the dollar is a reserve currency the dollar will not be allowed by the other nations to tank. Other nations, their bankers and investors, will force the U.S. to take action by what the internationalists do with their fiscal policies. As things economically get worse: interest rates start climbing through the ceiling, slow down in the growth of the private sector, etc., the do-nothing politicians will blame it all on the international bankers and investors.
This article has drawn many good suggestions, but absolutely *NONE* will work without getting to the root: political corruption. Politicians sharing in the booty by taking campaign bribes, and then rolling over to the industry that wants in the taxpayer’s pockets. The recent “crisis commission” blamed everyone except the nation’s board of directors — our CONGRESS — even when the politicians are 100% to blame.
The key problem is the way we finance elections. There are only two kinds of money: public and private. Private money got us here and nothing will change until we get these legal bribes out of politics. But a fix is vigorously opposed by the political elite that benefit from the existing corruption.
Nothing else matters, regardless of your issue. Nothing is going to change until we have public funding of campaigns. Politicians spend taxpayer dollars because they ARE PAID to spend taxpayer dollars, and robbing the SSI fund and Medicare (as just two examples) gives them the cash needed to attract campaign dollars.
Our problem is NOT government, and it is not R’s or D’s. It *IS* that government is owned by CEOs and corporate interests that want in the taxpayer’s pockets. The 2010 elections were funded by just 1% of Americans, when they should be financed by 100% of taxpayers. And at $5 per taxpayer it would be a bargain. Even at 100 times that.
CEOs want short-term profits to increase their already massive salaries, and are willing to share those profits with the politicians that made it all happen. Thus NAFTA and other laws are passed that enable outsourcing to countries with wage scales one-tenth ours. Or are repealed (like Glass-Seagall) to enable the Fat Cat bankers to rip off the public. And all while deregulation crashes our country, China and India flourish.
In addition to public funding of campaigns, politicians must also (a) be put on a pay-for-performance basis, where if deficits or pork barrel and special interest spending go up, their pay goes down, and (b) they must put their own wealth in a blind trust that blocks political insider trading (which today is rampant). They must also get their health care from Medicare and their retirement from Social Security, and receive it only when they reach 67 or 69 or whatever age the rest of us qualify.
As a former CEO my company would not have survived if I had an employee or board of directors who took money on the side and gave away company assets in return. Our country can’t survive this corruption either.
So the voters change nothing. We elect a new group of politicians and the Fat Cats simply re-direct their bribes as we continue down our spiral. But the problem is that all of these changes must be made by the foxes themselves (congress).
The public’s choices are simple: a 100% turnover of politicians until the above fixes are made, or a national revolution is inevitable. And all because our politicians refuse to stop the bribery they benefit from, and the public refused to stop it.
If politicians are going to be beholden to their funders, those funders should be the taxpayers. We MUST demand that our senators and representative pass the bill at: http://fairelectionsnow.org/about-bill
Jack Lohman …
http://MoneyedPoliticians.net
A wonderful, common-sense article with which I can find no fault in content or logic. The only trouble is, Barack Obama, the current Congress, and the majority of Amoricon voters have no real interest in fixing the economy at all and are certainly not about to suffer the sacrifices that such a move would entail. Thus it is, thus it has been for the past century with all presidents, congresses, and voters; and thus it will continue to be until the whole house of cards implodes in a socioeconomic cataclysm, one not long in coming. For that simple reason, this article was a tragic waste of time and effort (at least if the intent was to convince the economically benighted of the truth).
@John
True. Lawsuits are so commonplace, there ought to be a game show about them. Judge Judy is so 2004. “Sue Your Neighbor” should be a smash hit.
Farmers who don’t get paid to farm ARE farmers. That was their upbringing, and their training. They learned it from their dads and moms, who learned it in turn from their parents. Right now, they’re just unemployed farmers, stuck with playing “FarmVille” on a social networking site until they find employment. But they are still farmers at heart.
And before you get rid of all politicians, get rid of the corrupt ones first. Which are about, umm, 95 percent of them, bought and paid for by the establishment. I take that back. Get rid of all politicians! Even rotten meat smells better when you sprinkle a little Chanel No. 5 on it.
let it fall, let it fall, let it fall. and everything and everyone with it. nothing to save here, folks, move along. burn, baby, burn.**
** word to all yall on the god/bible train: jesus left the outhouse a long time ago. nothins comin to save your sorry ass. either.
Ha ha…that’s funny!
Jesus saves. But he doesn’t have an account at JPMorgan Chase.
In my clearly offensive anti-american opinion
#1 The rich and powerful wont let it happen
#2 where you would get your clothes, furniture and everything that runs on batteries and electricity?
#3 Big government is not necessarily the problem YOUR government is the problem
#4 What that sounds like socialism you will end up in a FEMA camp making Xboxes
#5 You mean stop insider trading wroughting the system
#6 Banksters will just change to a new scam
#7 you and whose army? not the US army Wall street own it
#8 who will rule on the cases? the government appointed Facist Judges Good luck
#9 Second part Yes first part NO
#10 Stop wasting so much food!
#11 no mexican’s Who is going to build your houses for $1.00 an hour?
#12 How many nations have no income tax?
#13 Thalidomide, Asbestus, Nuclear testing Fall out, Fracture Gas lines need i go on. Your greedy country needs regulations more than most.
#14 Cant even begin on how late it is for this
#15 interesting defintion of police, ask the viets, the afgans, Iraqis about your police actions
#16 Has the US ever complied with a UN treaty?
#17 Been to the US once, If I owned Hell and the US i would live in hell and rent out the US
#18 Again Where are you getting your judges from?
For people who are paid in dollars and must buy in dollars this resetting is inflation, which merely means rapid debasement of the fiat currency.
US or European or Japanese interest rates cannot curb this inflation.
First this globally manifest inflation results in a sharp rise in food, fiber and fuel and then in most other manufactured and consumer goods.
The FED has been chiefly responsible for impelling this global inflation but it is powerless to contain much less end it.
The FED is skilled at doing great harm; it is congenitally incapable of doing any good.
We help Americans find jobs and prosperity in Asia. For details, visit http://www.pathtoasia.com/jobs/
Tax reform is a bad idea. It will only lead to higher taxes. Anyone that believes in this debt crisis we will lower taxes is an idiot.
The republicans will get rid of the middle class and tax reform will help them do it.
Impeach Ron Paul!
TREMENDOUS ARTICLE!!! While reading the article,couldn’t you just amagine how great things could be if what was written would take place!!, BUT, Sad to say, but I think the out come is going to be more on the comments of “Me No Likey” If and only if Dr. Paul is our next President does this country have any kind of a chance. GOD HELP US ALL
Normally I find the commentary in this blog intelligent, but this list of prescriptions reads like the knee-jerk reactions of a mentally deranged infant. On the one hand we need to reduce the size of government, and on the other hand the government is going to break up banks, regulate financial market activity, restructure the energy resource industry, provide temp jobs, “crack down” on the already over-regulated healthcare industry, engage in a massive witch-hunt to seize individual assets…where exactly were you planning on reducing the size of government? One-ply bathroom tissue in government offices in place of two-ply?
We are to stop “policing the world” but refuse to trade with nations which do not respect “basic human rights”, which on your definition apparently include a certain wage level (which is what, exactly?) We are to secure the Southern border (great) but stop all foreign aid…what happens when we have a failed narco-state on the other side of the border fence?
There are certainly some very pertinent proposals here, but for the most part what these U.S. need is Good Leadership, not knee-jerk masturbatory isolationist fantasies (and not the crop of incompetent clowns who have held office in recent memory). I do wish I had previously commented on the many outstandingly intelligent posts on this blog rather than jumping in with this criticism. Please return to sanity as soon as possible.
Thanks for the plug for Niagara Falls. Please have all your readers come to Niagara and spit in the mist. Niagara is close to your home and like they used to say :See the U.S.A. , in your Chevorlet: Looking forward to seeing y,all. God Bless America. Peter, tour bus driver in Niagara Falls Canada.
“Shut Down The Federal Reserve, Break Up The Big Banks…”
Now we’re talking. This is a good start but not nearly enough. These are just symptoms. We are sicker than we realize.
Read “Common Sense 3.1” at ( http://www.revolution2.osixs.org )
FIGHT THE CAUSE – NOT THE SYMPTOM
-
We don’t have to live like this anymore. “Spread the News”