Fixing the Economy
Posted at 9:35 am on Wednesday, December 10, 2008, in Uncategorized, and tagged economics.
Well, I am just glad that the struggling economy is finally behind us. This may be some arm-chair quarterbacking, but this is what I would do to right the sinking economy…
- Buy the auto companies. Yep, let’s get in the car business. Let’s salvage what they got, and sell them off for parts. GM would be divided into several companies: Buick, Pontiac, Cadillac, Saturn, Hummer, GMC, etc. The same with Ford (Lincoln, Mercury) and Chrysler (Jeep, Dodge). Smaller is almost certainly better; they’ll be easier to evolve and transform, and quicker respond to changes in the industry.
- Buy the airlines. This should have been done in early 2002 instead of the little-reported $5-billion dollar bailout (a loan that was never repaid) the Congress granted the industry. Same as with the auto industry; salvage, divide and sell-off. Smaller, more agile companies will survive; slow-moving behemoths will not.
- Eliminate Freddie and Fannie. Well, more accurately, phase them out. Systematically decrease holdings by ten percent per year. The federal government should not be in the home mortgage business; it should regulate it.
- Eliminate the Enron loophole. And don’t just repeal it, slam it shut. The out-of-control energy futures market is catalytic for financial turbulence. And it doesn’t need to be.
- Prosecute white-collar crimes. Seek financial damages from all corporations that conduct unethical business practices, including mortgage lenders and stock-brokers. No one ever goes to jail for white-collar crimes, which is fine; but those convicted should pay dearly.
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December 16th, 2008 at 9:58 am
I agree with all this…especially the breaking up of the car companies into their individual brands. It seemingly would create competition. You may want to propose this to the L.A. Times.