Bailout must aid all Americans
by Matt | September 23rd, 2008 |
A New York third party has laid out a bailout plan that would benefit all Americans, not just the Wall Street investors, financiers and bankers who got us in this mess to begin with.
I’m not a Wall Street or economic expert, but unlike John McCain, I at least know something about how our economy works. The New York Working Families Party has made a two-part plan that might just work, especially when it comes to helping America’s average, working families.
The first part of the plan:
First, it can’t just be a bail-out for the big guys. It must include:
i. Bankruptcy shelter for homeowners
ii. Restructured mortgages for people in danger of losing their homes.
iii. CRA requirements on investment banks and insurance companies
iv. Outlaw - period! - predatory lending and cap usurious payday lending rates.
v. Expand Unemployment Insurance and Home Heating Oil for people who are about to lose their jobs.
And, the reason why my grandpa was a Democrat and why I’m a Democrat and why the Democrats need to grow a spine and stick up for the average Americans… my favorite part of the plan:
Second, every executive at every firm that accepts the public’s money must ALSO agree to a salary cap. Make it no more than ten times what the lowest paid person in their firm earns, to a maximum of $1 million per year. That’s $20,000 per week. If they can’t live on that, then we’ll find executives who can. If they have to dip into their savings, what on earth do they think the rest of America is about to be forced to do?
Really, the mess we’re in is a failure of our Republican form of government combined with the blind ambition of capitalism gone wild. Traced back almost three decades, our current financial crisis can be squarely blamed on the deregulation started by Reagan and continued through Bush I, Clinton and Bush II.
Like a car, the economy must be maintained. If you have a car, it costs a lot less to maintain it through the years, than to ignore all the problems and spend thousands fixing it later. Similarly, the economy needed to be maintained and regulated. Now that it has been ignored, we will spend billions fixing it.
As we fix the economy, we shouldn’t forget about the little man… the hard-working families that make up the backbone of America. Even if Wall Street is propped up, if the common men and women performing back-breaking work everyday they falter and fail, so will all of America.
7 Responses to “Bailout must aid all Americans”
I stopped reading after “I’m not a Wall Street or economic expert…”
By KipEsquire on Sep 23, 2008
Haha… well the second part of that sentence was a good one. And, the economy impacts my life, whether or not I’m an expert… it is only fair that I have a say (just like all citizens have a say in politics, even though they are not political experts).
By Matt on Sep 23, 2008
In all seriousness, my only request is that you keep in mind that there is such a thing as true capitalists, and we are as indignant about this situation — which is in no way “capitalism” — as your cohort.
Fail, baby, fail!
By KipEsquire on Sep 23, 2008
Matt,
Deregulation started under Carter, not Reagan.
By Chris on Sep 24, 2008
Hhmm. Interesting. There’s something to be said for protecting the homeowners instead of the lenders in this situation, but that’s about all I can see that is worthwhile in their plan.
But what is “predatory lending” anyway? Sales people need to be able to pursue potential customers, and some practices are obviously unethical, but how do we prevent legislators from overstepping their bounds and outlawing practices they disagree with that aren’t “predatory”?
Salary caps! That’s so silly! If you started capping their salaries, that would take all the motivation away to run the company efficiently. Of course, someone will point out that it’s only for companies that take “public” money. Fine, but many companies cannot help but make products that the government buys. What about red tape manufacturers? Paper mills?
Capitalism, even “capitalism gone wild,” is not the problem. Our society has become more rude and crude and less considerate of others. Yes, I really think it is that simple. I could manipulate people into signing contracts with my firm if I wanted to, but I don’t because of my sense of ethics and fair play. That doesn’t come from government regulation. It comes from the way my parents raised me and the attitudes of the community I grew up in. Just because some people like a moral compass, doesn’t mean that I should be punished for their shortcomings.
By Pepe Johnson on Sep 24, 2008
Unfortunately Pepe its because of those same people that we have to regulate you along with them. The rules are there not for law abiding citizens but for those citizens that have no conscience and won’t do what they should unless forced to do so. Hence the need for regulations. You may not like it but rules are their for a reason.
By adam kautz on Sep 24, 2008
john mccain cares about americans…
that are rich.
http://www.queersunited.blogspot.com
By queerunity on Sep 27, 2008