Tonight, as usual, a quick review of a handful of articles reminds us--it seems we're "reminded" almost every day, of late--of where we are, economically, and how we got here. Among others, this time it's former Clinton administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich speaking truth: "
We're in a Recession Because the Rich Are Raking in an Absurd Portion of the Wealth."
A jobs bill has just been passed by congress which is equal to...drumroll please...less than what Goldman Sachs paid its employees in bonuses over the past year: $15 billion. (I'm sure someone will remind me that this is "better than nothing;" which, of course, it is.) Which brings us to another truth: "Inaction by Congress Deepens the Jobs Crisis."
So, let's talk about
five simple things that could be done, immediately, to fix our economy that would make a major difference for Democrats in November, and for our entire country, right now and going forward...
1.) Give money to the poor.
"Just Give Money To Poor People, A Surpisingly Effective Solution to Poverty," Melinda Burns at Miller-McCune.com, 7/4/10
2.) Bypass the Wall Street bailout recipients, entirely, and have the Federal Reserve lend money directly to Main Street, without the Wall Street status quo middlemen taking their tithes.
"The Scope of Monetary Policy Actions Authorized Under The Federal Reserve Act," Federal Reserve white paper by David H. Small and James A. Clouse, 7/19/04
3.) Drastically expand highly effective jobs programs, immediately, that have proven themselves to be worthy of massive expansion.
"A Jobs Program That Works," Bob Herbert at the NY Times, 7/3/10
4.) Have the Treasury Department and/or Federal Reserve lend money to the states to enable them to provide a backdoor bailout to Main Street, immediately.
"Let Treasury Rescue the States," Chris Edley, NY Times, 7/8/10
5.) Either before or after we do "number 4," immediately above--and to pay for items 1 through 4, above--we then provide all of the resources necessary for the states' attorneys general to sue the crap out of Wall Street.
From Kossack and Democratic Party candidate for Texas Attorney General Barbara Ann Radnofsky, an elegantly simple way to not get mad, but to get even: "Suing Wall Street: 'Brilliant, Simple and Clear'," Barbara Ann Radnofsky, Daily Kos, 6/28/10
More on this from Zero Hedge: "Texas AG Candidate Sues Goldman et al For Causing "Recession, Unemployment" And Everything Else That's Bad, Zero Hedge, 7/4/10"
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See, wasn't that easy? And completely self-funded, too! Our economic problems resolved!