Forum Post: How to fix the American Economy
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 6, 2011, 7:33 a.m. EST by Oursec
(4)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
How to fix American Economy
- Reinstitute separation of banking, insurance, and investment (stock); eliminate trading on margin; provide regulation to limit ability to speculate on commodities markets (if feasible).
- Reinstitute 90% tax bracket for incomes 40 times (to limit CEO salaries lower than the 400 as it is now) greater than American average; Allow 50% depreciation in first year for capital improvement projects within the United States and double deflation for following years.
- Wean off of lending from China and Canada; Eliminate free trade agreements; institute trade agreements that recognize American cost for OSHA, minimum wage, and environmental protection. Tax or tariff imports in proportion to lack of these standards by competing country.
- Recognize that some capabilities such as research, construction and life cycle support of warships and warplanes (not cargo ships or planes) does not have a competitive environment; government is fleeced by current companies. Construct and manage these projects in-house. Where competitive environments exist – maximize capitalism.
- Recognize that some infrastructure (such as power, water, land-line communications road and rail) are natural monopolies – institute not for profit management with over-site akin to electrical coops for natural monopolies. (Government could own transmission routes, and companies pay government for access to compete for customers… Rates charged to companies based on cost of maintenance and improvements to system)
- Reduce corporate taxes; eliminate loop-holes, favor small companies
- Break up companies that are “Too big to fail”.
- Enforce the same standard to congress and aides as they do to American Government and Military Workers – ie they cannot represent their company in congress (Political Action Committees etc..) for five years post end of government service; limit all political offices to 12 years (congress, senate, governor)
- Determine activities essential to American ability to win a war – ie steel production, manufacturing, food production... Tariff foreign competition and/or supplement these industries as required to keep them afloat.
- Determine infrastructure that will improve competitiveness of American companies, ie cheap and plentiful energy and transportation capabilities. Implement massive construction projects to develop these capabilities.
- Improve trade school image and worker quality. Improve American Education system; overhaul no-child left behind act by providing a national minimum standard. Eliminate inclusion where it limits performance.
Let's fix the system. To get people moving together as one cause is difficult. Too many voices, people within will separate. If we can make an APP to do what Daniel Suarez book "Freedom" does, we will do great things. We all will be united as one. Our voices will be one. The current world is whomever has the most $$$ controls everything. I sincerely hope, We the people is the voice that give our prospective to make the world a better place.
Isn't the internet pretty much the app you speak of?
"Allow 50% depreciation in first year for capital improvement projects within the United States and double deflation for following years. 3. Wean off of lending from China and Canada; Eliminate free trade agreements"
As far as I understand, the capital depreciation rate is already based on an exponential decay and is specific to what the capital is. For example, if you invest in a computer, the life of that asset is 5 years. It will slowly lose value over time and after five years, according to the IRS, it loses any depreciable value. Isn't the first year depreciation rate already somewhere around 30-40%, and what would be the benefit of marking it at 50% for the first year?
As far as free trade agreements go, and this is not a religious market perspective, whenever protective tariffs have been imposed, unexpected results happen. This encourages corruption at our borders, for it's easy for individuals to be bribed to let illegal goods in. It manipulates prices and distorts other markets in the country. So we might reap benefits in x, but cause a ripple in market y. Not to mention the cost of enforcement, which almost always outweighs the benefits of the revenue. Even with China holding their currency artificially low, decreasing their imports here will not help us. They own 97% of the precious metals on the market. Getting into a trade war can have many unintended side effects.
I feel the system is broken just as you do, but I can't wrap my mind around increasing tariffs. I do not think the free market should run wild though and there needs to be regualtions to keep people honest, but I thought it was pretty much accepted that tariffs have been a failure throughout history. I just want to get a little insight on your proposal.
12: Deliver a kitten to every foreign leader in hopes that they will give America unlimited wealth and resources.
You are living in a dreamworld my good sir.
This would be a good step to reduce corruption however it still leaves much to be accomplished.
The 700+ trillion dollar derivatives bubble will eventually burst.
Globalization has made China and other foreign nations dependent on us to import their goods. Breaking trade agreements will likely increase hostility with their '1%'.
Technological unemployment has brought us to a point where human labor only makes up 1% of agricultural production, 8% of manufacturing, and even the service sector is now becoming increasingly automated/mechanized.
Infinite growth and cyclical consumption of resources are unsustainable as many ecosystems have been destroyed or are in the process.
The system is global in scope and a drastic change in our system will have wide reaching effects. We need a system which can factor in the population at a global level.
http://vimeo.com/13029324
It doesn't matter the "Powers that Be" won't listen at all. These oldies go at their own pace and make exceptions to the rules when it's in their favor!
how exactly is this going to rebuild the american manufacturing base? if you don't repatriate those jobs to the US, it's still all going continue to fall apart.
here's an awesome, awful idea: declare war on china. seize chinese assets, make all that chinese-held paper worthless, effectlvely default on a huge proportion of our sovereign debt. a decent pretext could be manufactured with the help of taiwan. we will have to manufacture all that chinese crap here.
let's do it. let's lower the boom on our greatest enemy in the world. fuck those guys.