Here is a good article that explains why we have a financial problem, who gave it to us, and what should be done about it:
http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2008/09/in_times_of_crisis_trust_capit.html
It’s clear to me that our pathological aversion to personal responsibility has worked itself so far upward that our entire economy has become based on “no consequences for bad choices.”
1. Drop corporate tax rate to 10%.
2. Repeal Sarbanes Oxley.
3. Drop Capital Gains tax to 0.5% and use all of the revenue to pay off whatever “bailout” plan Congress approves.
4. Freeze the federal budget — no new spending, no budget increases, except maybe defense.
Why:
1. Corp taxes in the USA are the second highest in the world. Drop them to the lowest, and watch the foreign investment soar. Bring money and jobs back to our own country without having to pass more regulation that won’t work. Obama bemoans jobs moving off-shore. Duh! His plan to raise taxes on corporations will only make the problem worse. McCain’s plan doesn’t go far enough. We want to be the best place for companies to come to and set up shop, not the second or third best.
2. SOX is a disaster, not accomplishing its goal and preventing thousands of companies from going public. Like it or not, we have a public market economy; most of us rely on new and profitable companies entering the public exchange for our retirement plans. SOX is a massive hindrance.
3. Removing the punishment of capital gains tax means people will be more likely to invest their earnings, spurning growth, instead of hiding their money away in other areas that aren’t taxed so high but don’t benefit the public on a whole, or sending their money overseas where it doesn’t benefit our economy. Remember, we need growth and investment to raise the value of our currency and make jobs.
4. Obviously, we spend too much.
The answer to getting out of debt; to rising unemployment; to revenue shortfalls (not that we have that), is growth — not more government interference.
Feel free to write my name in for President come November 4.
The senator said she didn’t think all responsibility for solving these problems should be vested in the Treasury Department, suggesting that “once we get through this immediate crisis,” the country should look at some Great Depression-era type of governmental entity to deal with it. –Article
Liberal politicians love these problems, because when things get rough, people turn to “security” in the government. Rather than take the risk that they might have a rough patch, they will listen to the promise of “government entities” set up to protect and provide for them.
It doesn’t matter that the policies of the 90s are directly responsible for financial woes of today (the media will ignore that), and it doesn’t matter that the country still isn’t in a recession (the media will report that people are “worried about possible recession” to give the same emotional effect). What matters is that people will turn to government and vest even more control over their lives in politicians promising to make things easier.
The Great Depression is the perfect example. A downturn in the economy was turned into a disastrous depression by FDR’s policies (extending the depression far beyond it’s natural length) and the scope and power of the federal government was expanded into the private sector like never before.
I don’t worry about recession or depression so much as I worry about the loss of liberty and freedom they will bring as people turn more and more of their lives over to the government for safe keeping.