Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three steps:Visit Dave Ramsey's site here for details on how to get this to your representative or senator.
Common Sense Plan.
I. INSURANCE
A. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity.
B. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things:
1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage.
a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes.
b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while
working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives.
2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps underperforming executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs.
C. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal.
II. MARK TO MARKET
A. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate.
B. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing.
III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX
A. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing.
B. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down. This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to
stand up, speak out, and fix this mess.
'Journalist' Ifill has a Financial interest in outcome of debateDespite the protestations of her colleagues that she will be fair, Ifill has appeared on numerous radio and TV talk shows over the past several months to cash in on her access to the Obama campaign. She recently penned a fawning cover story on the Obamas for Essence magazine that earned much buzz. The title? “The Obamas: Portrait of an American Family.” A sample of Ifill’s hard-hitting investigative journalism, illustrated with Kennedyesque photos of the Obamas and children posing at home on the backporch and by the piano: “Barack Obama is sitting in the back of his rented luxury campaign bus with its granite counters and two flat-screen TVs. The Illinois senator’s arms are wrapped around his wife, Michelle, whom he doesn’t get to see much these days. At this very moment he is, of all things, singing.”
Okay, it's not Dr. Evil's ONE MILLION DOLLARS, but every bit helps.Help Needed: Click This, Help Soldiers
It's this simple. Click here. Scroll down and pick Soldier's Angels. Enter.
You just gave Soldier's Angels $2. That's it. And it didn't cost you a dime!
Squidoo.com decided they have $80,000 to give to charity, so they're letting people vote on which charity to give to. One vote = $2 until all the money is given away or until Oct. 15th when voting ends.
No gimmicks. They didn't even ask for an e-mail so they could spam you later. If they don't get 40,000 people to vote they'll just divide the money up proportionally.
Please pass this along to other bloggers, friends, and family members.UPDATE: Come on people, click. If not for the good feeling you get for helping our brave soldiers, then for the evil yet surprisingly satisfying feeling that you'll get knowing that your helping put the #2 charity in the race farther and farther behind.
I'm told The Acumen Fund is a George Soros charity run by his daughter. Not that everything Soros does is evil, but people, GEORGE SOROS. Are we going to let them even come close? I don't think so.
Click, you know you want to. GEORGE. FRICKIN. SOROS.
