Okay, it’s soapbox time again. This is a condensed reiteration of my past 2 years advice in letters I’ve sent to our government leaders.
First of all, giving the banks $800 Billion dollars saved or created approximately 31,000 jobs. But wait, the economy it no better than before…so saving a few firms on Wall Street wasn’t the magic silver bullet after all. All those banking big shots still get to collect their $26 Million dollar bonuses, despite the fact that they improper loans and securitization devastated the US and world economies. Sooo you ask, what should be done? Several things. Now pay attention.
$800 Billion dollars, used correctly, could have been used to create up to 10 Million manufacturing jobs, because as we all know, manufacturing jobs are GREAT for the economy. 10, 15, 20, 25 Million manufacturing jobs have been lost, outsourced, disappeared into thin air while the Wall Streeters are still employed. The $800 Billion should have been used to provide an $8,000 tax credit for each permanent full-time new hire thus creating as many as 10 Million jobs.
Secondly, speed up the foreclosure process. Stop with the moratoriums, reduce or eliminate redemption periods. Most of the home owners never really could afford the loans to begin with. So lets speed things up, it’s not like they are going to get great new jobs in the near future making $150,000 per year and suddenly bring all their bills current.
You see when someone buys a new house, especially a foreclosed home, they have a strange tendency to rehab, redecorate, upgrade the new home and all the materials they use are manufactured goods. That means that if they speed up foreclosures, it will increase the demand for manufactured goods, which are made by people with manufacturing jobs, and thus re-employ the unemployed.
I know from personal first hand experience as a home buyer, new house means, new furniture, appliances, carpet, paint, window treatments, deck, hot tub, new kitchen, bathroom, windows, furnace, A/C. Gosh and all those things are created by people in manufacturing jobs. Now all those newly employed people with the manufacturing jobs can now qualify for loan and buy the now reasonably priced housing inventory, thus creating a cycle of more jobs.
In addition, many new homebuyers hire local contractors for the labor (increased job demand for skilled trades), pull permits (money for local governments), and increase tax based for the updated homes (increased tax base).
Stop bailing out the banks, and create permanent manufacturing jobs. Let the gov’t take over the banks and remove all those people getting $26 Million in bonuses. Fix the economy the old-fashioned way. Jobs are good for the economy. Reduce unemployment and the continuous drain on social services at the state, local and federal budgets.
Rebuild the US economy by speeding up the foreclosures.
