What do you think needs to be done to turn the economy around?
- Thread starter supermom262
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We could start by putting money into our own country rather than sending trillions of dollars to build other countries. Also, it may be a good idea to throw a rod into the spokes of the printing press at the US Mint.
I think we need to get rid of all the nonsense, double talk, enforce regulations, and make people accountable for their and their companies actions. The financial shell game needs to be shut down and those who profited from it need to pay penalties and be sent packing - without a suitcase full of cash!
IMO a great deal of our current woes - both real and perceived - are due to speculators driving up oil prices, banks and investment companies giving money to people who shouldn't have gotten it, unethical and unintelligent practices across the board, and people getting creative w/ the ledgers so that bad decisions and risks were introduced into areas they weren't supposed to be in.
Cut up the credit cards of the US gov't (and many Americans), put the country on a no pork, no crony, no lobbyist diet, and start DOING something about problems besides just doling out $.
IMO a great deal of our current woes - both real and perceived - are due to speculators driving up oil prices, banks and investment companies giving money to people who shouldn't have gotten it, unethical and unintelligent practices across the board, and people getting creative w/ the ledgers so that bad decisions and risks were introduced into areas they weren't supposed to be in.
Cut up the credit cards of the US gov't (and many Americans), put the country on a no pork, no crony, no lobbyist diet, and start DOING something about problems besides just doling out $.
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TooFarTampa
SoWal Insider
I've done a lot of reading on this and I don't have any idea. But here are my thoughts.
1) I think this recession is just a cycle and while it may last for a little while we will work our way out of it -- except for the fact that gas prices WILL stay high, and we just are going to finally have to suck it up as a nation and start conserving.
2) I think ethanol is a crock and all the corn being used for it ends up being a huge drain on families because of the resulting elevated food prices. So coming up with a better idea than ethanol, stat, is important. Especially because using it as an additive to gasoline actually reduces gas mileage!
3) We need to have an energy plan that STARTS with the practical (ie conserving gas by being smart about how much you drive AND taking care of your tire pressure and tuneups) and shoots for the moon, so to speak, with an energy Manhattan Project.
4) Because energy innovation is going to create jobs and it's the kind of stuff that puts a huge boost into the economy.
5) We need to ease our way out of Iraq so we can stop spending so much money there. It's ridiculous and we have other fish to fry and things to prepare for militarily. Petraeus is a hero and I sure hope he can help us manage a peaceful exit.
6) We need to cut spending and work toward a balanced budget. Economists disagree on whether tax cuts will actually raise tax revenue, but it's hard to say whether the cuts worked under Bush, because THEY SPENT ALL OF IT AND THEN SOME. I am on the fence about raising taxes for those with the highest incomes (whether it will help or hurt is a point that economists disagree on), but I am ALL for it if it proves to be necessary to ensure that our children do not inherit a broken nation.
7) Long term, we have to worry very hard about Medicare and Social Security. Not sure much will be done about it in the next four years.
I'm sure there are plenty of other things I missed ...
1) I think this recession is just a cycle and while it may last for a little while we will work our way out of it -- except for the fact that gas prices WILL stay high, and we just are going to finally have to suck it up as a nation and start conserving.
2) I think ethanol is a crock and all the corn being used for it ends up being a huge drain on families because of the resulting elevated food prices. So coming up with a better idea than ethanol, stat, is important. Especially because using it as an additive to gasoline actually reduces gas mileage!
3) We need to have an energy plan that STARTS with the practical (ie conserving gas by being smart about how much you drive AND taking care of your tire pressure and tuneups) and shoots for the moon, so to speak, with an energy Manhattan Project.
4) Because energy innovation is going to create jobs and it's the kind of stuff that puts a huge boost into the economy.
5) We need to ease our way out of Iraq so we can stop spending so much money there. It's ridiculous and we have other fish to fry and things to prepare for militarily. Petraeus is a hero and I sure hope he can help us manage a peaceful exit.
6) We need to cut spending and work toward a balanced budget. Economists disagree on whether tax cuts will actually raise tax revenue, but it's hard to say whether the cuts worked under Bush, because THEY SPENT ALL OF IT AND THEN SOME. I am on the fence about raising taxes for those with the highest incomes (whether it will help or hurt is a point that economists disagree on), but I am ALL for it if it proves to be necessary to ensure that our children do not inherit a broken nation.
7) Long term, we have to worry very hard about Medicare and Social Security. Not sure much will be done about it in the next four years.
I'm sure there are plenty of other things I missed ...
TooFarTampa
SoWal Insider
8) I forgot that Congress really needs regulate the lending market so no-doc interest only loans never again become commonplace. I am sure there are other things that could benefit from a little regulation, it would be nice if we could figure it out BEFORE the next bubble comes along!
In all, though, I really think people are going to have to adjust their expectations and to a degree their lifestyles, if they haven't already, and I think that is a good thing for all of us.
In all, though, I really think people are going to have to adjust their expectations and to a degree their lifestyles, if they haven't already, and I think that is a good thing for all of us.
Would it help if we became more of a cash focused economy? 
IMO people buying things they can't pay for is a big problem in our economy - the real estate mess is just credit card debt on a massive scale IMO.
IMO people buying things they can't pay for is a big problem in our economy - the real estate mess is just credit card debt on a massive scale IMO.
If rather than going to war in the middle east, we gave $500 billion in incentives to create new sources of clean, renewable, cost-efficient energy, we would be ahead by billions of dollars, and could be selling the technology to countries like China and India, who will soon beat us to the punch if we don't get started with vigor.
TooFarTampa
SoWal Insider
Would it help if we became more of a cash focused economy?
IMO people buying things they can't pay for is a big problem in our economy - the real estate mess is just credit card debt on a massive scale IMO.
I'm not sure. I think doing that is a great long-term strategy, but in the short term, it may create a deeper recession. Shopping is what props us up after all. :shock:
No, not spending billions overseas, and not having massive trade deficits because we don't make anything here is what props up the economy.
Spending $ we don't have on crap from China that is purchased at Walmart isn't so bueno for our economy.
Spending $ we don't have on crap from China that is purchased at Walmart isn't so bueno for our economy.