My Own Stimulus

Barack Obama is President of the United States, I am not. It is his job to get this economy up and running again, not mine, however, if I were President this is how I would have gotten the economy up and running. This is my own personal ten point stimulus plan.

Point One: I'd make sure that we passed regulations that ensured that contracts were clear to the parties involved. I am a HUGE supporter of free market capitalism and highly skeptical of regulations, however, I do support regulations when they ensure that all parties are consenting fully to what they are getting into. I don't believe that a person can consent without being fully clear on the terms of the agreement. I believe that in the case of the faulty mortgages (which led to the bubble that got us into this mess) many people were not fully aware of what they were getting into, therefore we must regulate this area more.

Point Two: There has been talk of relaxing mark-to-market rules. These rules require companies to keep track of financial statements and are designed to keep them from concealing information from investors. However, critics of mark-to-market argue that relaxing these rules would give banks breathing room. On the very day I write this there was a hearing on relaxing mark-to-market. It may have passed by the time you read this. Since I believe in recovery at all costs, at least a temporary relaxation is in order.

Point Three: Small business is the foundation of the American economy. We certainly do need more regulations at some macro level in the economy, although small business needs less. Sometime you ought to read Give Me A Break by John Stossel in order to see just how small business faces a stranglehold of regulation. I think that deregulation on small business is not debatable, it should be someting Republicans should support since it will give businesses breathing room and something Democrats should support if they truly want to help the middle class. We must always, always remember that debates on regulation vs. deregulation are a false flag, what we need to keep in mind is the difference between Big Business and small business and the different regulatory structures that these two groups need.

Point Four: Tax cuts for the middle and low-income families. This is one point where Obama really does get it. Cut out waste and we could make those tax cuts even bigger than they are now. In addition, we need to make sure we cover up the deficit with long-term gains in the economy and spending cuts once we no longer need to stimulate the economy with Federal spending. We can't fall into the trap of raising taxes on the rich. Sometimes I worry that people are in "punishment mode" and forget the finer points of how investment on part of the rich helps us all.

Point Five: I'd legalize illegal drugs like marijuana, as well as other victimless crimes like prostitution, gambling, etc. I'd also decrease the drinking age, relax smoking restrictions etc. Sure, this is the libertarian in me showing through but lets cut to a few points. First, when something is made illegal it creates a massive black market and ultimately raises the incentive. Secondly, treating drug use etc. like a medical/social problem rather than a criminal problem is more humane, practical, and I expect will cost less money (considering how much it costs to keep a criminal in prison. Thirdly, it will be a boon for our economy, considering how huge these industries are. Fourthly, it will increase civil liberties, after all, the government's snooping to stop these activities affects even those of us not doing them. Fifthly, it will open up a new area for revenue for the government. With revenue will also come regulation, ensuring that these things will be safer.

Point Six: Get rid of subsidies, tariffs, and price supports. These foolish protectionist policies protect a few jobs at the expense of keeping goods for all of us more expensive in the long run. By reducing and eventually eliminating protectionism, goods that we couldn't have imagined will now be in reach. The reduction in prices will boost consumer confidence and increase consumer spending, stimulating the economy and leading to job creation.

Point Seven: Reduce immigration restrictions. People often take out their economic frustrations on immigrants although I think that this is motivated mainly by bad economics, racism, or both than genuine concerns. The truth is that immigrants bring down prices and add diversity to the economy. Most importantly, we are having a situation where natives aren't reproducing fast enough, people are living longer, and the number of retirees on Social Security and Medicare increases while the number of people supporting them decreases. If we want to reduce this trend, we need to allow more immigrants in. This will take care of a very real future crisis and help our economy now. The more young people in relation to retirees, the lower payroll taxes can be... and you can possibly retire faster.

Point Eight: Perhaps the most radical of my points, along with point Point Five. We will restore limits on the terms of intellectual property. Excessive copywrite terms create a false monopoly and restricts innovation. What we need right now is as much innovation as possible. Innovation leads to prosperity. We need a freer culture! (Also don't forget how this hurts poor people, particularly in the area of medicine, it makes prices far higher than they need to be.)

Point Nine: Temporary increase in food stamps and welfare/unemployment payouts. We cannot keep this up forever because it is unsustainable, but what we need is to put as much money into people's hands as possible. This is an important temporary step in injecting money into local economies.

Point Ten: Very, very critically, we must improve education and make it affordable. I believe firmly in the power of competition over the power of central government. What we need is a school voucher program for lower and middle income people, and we need to extend these vouchers further, up to higher education. Decent education with real competition will get this economy running well for years to come.

Conclusions: I believe that this is a combination of the power of free markets and the need for government to act. The collapse and my subsequent studies have moved me somewhat from my formerly dogmatic laissez-faire position to a more moderate libertarianism. Additionally, social conservatives will probably raise Hell about Point Five, Big Business about point Eight, and teacher's unions about Point Ten. This could make these politically infeasible. Additionally, I note that these ten points tend to span the political spectrum. Point One, Five, Seven, Eight, and Nine are more "liberal" and Point Two, Three, Four, and Six, and Ten are more "conservative." If this were passed as a comprehensive whole it could either rally bipartisan support or cause bickering. I'm worried that refusal to compromise could make it the latter. Finally, maybe the libertarian movement should take a look at these reforms as a package toward a more palatable, and therefore more feasible libertarianism. Just a thought.