How America Can Reinvent Itself Through These Difficult Times

I have been giving this whole economic situation a lot of thought. I predicted it, years - years before it actually happened. I am not a prophet, or a psychic. I just pay attention. The signs were on the horizon and anyone with two braincells to rub together knew we couldn't go on sticking it to the poor forever. Why? Because when huge corporate business interests are done sticking it to the poor, and the poor are spent they need to move up the food chain to the middle class and start sticking it to them so that investors could continue to see the value of their stock go up. And when the middle class is spent? Well, here we are. In the worst depression since the 30's.

Depression. The "D word." You can play around with financial terms and call it deflation if you like, but no matter how you dice it, people's money isn't going as far as it did just a couple of short years ago. When the number of people who couldn't afford healthcare in the US reached 40 million, that should have been an early warning. When people began having to take on two jobs because they couldn't get enough hours working their primary place of employment, that should have set off an alarm. When our education system became one of the worst of all industrialized countries, that should have been treated like a dead canary in a coal mine. People are loosing their homes and have to choose between eating and medication, and that in everyone's vocabulary means depression.

So, how did we get here from the prosperity that we experienced in the 90's? Well, much of it had to do with the Conservative hero Ronald Reagan, who deregulated all the banks and just about every other industry that really needed to be regulated. If the banks are too important to fail they need to be highly regulated with a lot of government oversight or be nationalized altogether. If The People are going to have to bite the bullet and bail banks out, then they should have some say in how that bank does business and we should also see some of the profits. Did you know that we now own 80% of AIG? Why is it that we only inherit the losses but none of the profits? And why are bank CEO's paying themselves millions when their poor decision making has led the bank to fail in the first place?

America can survive this. But how we do it matters. Here are some ideas which will help to restore the sort of idealism that the Founding Fathers must have had when they crafted our country while helping the economy to bounce back.

For example, what would happen if the banks actually helped us by lending out the money that was given them in the bailout like they promised instead of using the money for bonuses or to acquire other banks? It might be a different situation altogether if they didn't treat the taxpayers that helped them like saps or marks to be taken advantage of. They need to remember that they are in business because WE lent them the money to stay in business. How long would this economy continue its downward spiral if the banks lent money to the people who lent it to them in the first place, at descent rates? How many new small businesses would be created with the ability to borrow at low interests?

Imagine how many billions of dollars could be generated by killing the Corporate Tax. It was well intended but it hasn't really worked all that well. States use this tax relief to entice big business to build there instead of somewhere else. What usually ends up happening is that the company will bring in all the white collared jobs from elsewhere, the really high paying technical work is sent overseas and then only offer low paying jobs to the locals. The end result is that the tax payer has to pick up the tab for the loss of state revenue in the form of property taxes. The ideological paradigm for this tax break originates with failed "trickle down economics."

What if businesses and individuals that prospered by creating this disastrous situation gave something back? Imagine if they pledged to support the charities (beyond the token amounts they donate to benefit from tax breaks) who are taking care of the people that they left homeless and out of work. We could change the face of capitalism if we, as consumers, payed enough attention to patronize only those companies that are giving back and shun those that aren't.

Want to fix Social Security? Who doesn't? Remember when Bush wanted us to invest in the stock market instead? Wow... could you imagine the mess our retirees would be in if they had succeeded in doing away with SSI? Tax everyone equally based on what they make. As it is right now, a person is only required to pay SSI tax on the first 100K they make. If some one makes 24 million dollars a year, they are only required to pay taxes on the first 100k. The ideological paradigm for this tax break originates with the mean spirited Conservative idea that maybe the wrong person might benefit from Social Security, and "why should I pay for some one else's care just because I am filthy rich?" Yes, Social Security is in trouble, and this is why. Conservative values speak greatly of "patriotism." So let's require rich people to be patriotic too and do their share for their country and their compatriots.

Gosh, what if doctors and dentists remembered why they became doctors in the first place and started dedicating 1/10^th of their efforts to helping those that needed healthcare but couldn't afford it? And I mean PREVENTIVE CARE - not emergency care when some one's health has crashed from lack of insurance, or simply yanking teeth.

And what about medical schools? Traditionally, the poor have been been able to get health and dental care from the schools. It is supposed to be a win-win situation, where students get guinea pigs... uh.., I mean patients, and the patients get the care they can't afford. But today it is different. You are expected to pay for that student care. The schools are cashing in because they know that the poor are so desperate for care that they will choose not to eat or pay rent to get care at a discount. What if the tax payers that support these schools said that they didn't want any of their taxes going to support schools that didn't treat the poor? What if those endowments stopped coming until the schools began to once again, provide a public service?

What if grocery stores and their stockholders took a break from trying to make as much money as possible and prioritized profit making second to helping the patrons that once helped them helped meet quarterly goals but can no longer afford to feed their families? Many restaurants are lowering prices or asking customers to only pay what they can during the bad economy to help out their patrons... why aren't supermarkets?

Imagine landlords and management companies turning their back for once on the "market value" to help American families keep roofs over their heads? Remember, if there is anyone who is blameless for what is occurring today it is the renter who ignored the temptation to purchase a home they couldn't afford. What if we patronized management companies who are doing their share only, and remembered the ones that didn't after?

Remember: In the US we vote with our money. One dollar = one vote. This explains why the rich have so much influence in government. Let's put OUR money to use in the same way. Let's look for companies that are trying to do the right thing and give them our money. Let's not give it to the companies who are trying to do "business as usual" while the rest of us are trying to survive this economy.

Sure, you might be laughing as you read this, thinking that only a dreamer or an idealist could come up with such solutions to our problems. But if you aren't laughing, then maybe you believe, as I do, that reverence for our brothers and sisters isn't idealistic at all, but simply a matter of decency and patriotism.