Avoiding Depression 101

Unemployment over 10%, defaults on mortgages still rising, states on the verge of bankruptcy: What do we do? Here are some unorthodox methods open for discussion.

First: Increase employment. Cut employees hours by 10 % and have the government subsidize the difference in wages for participating companies. The workload remains the same, so employers hire 10% more people to make up the difference. It's working for Germany.

Second: Institute MAXIMUM wage laws. The CEO wants $10 million a year? Well, he or she cannot earn more than 30x (pick a number, currently it is over 400x) of the wages of the lowest paid employee. At 30x, I'll manage on $333,333.33. How about you? When working class people have money, they spend it; when rich people have money, they hoard or gamble it. Duh. This will encourage living wages for employees and discourage Board of Directors from awarding obscene salaries.

Third: Restore manufacturing. Withdraw from the World Trade Organization, repeal all "free trade" agreements, and impose matching tariffs and quotas on all nations that the U.S. imports from. For example, South Korea limits U.S. automobile imports to less than 7000 and we imported over 600,000 of their automobiles. And coming soon: Chinese automobiles. Our tariff on China: less than 2%, their tariff: 19%. Yes, the Koreans and Chinese are protectionists, we should be protectionists too. Let's not stop there, include textiles, automobile parts, you name it.
Until the U.S. Civil War, the U.S. Treasury was fully funded by tariffs. Alexander Hamilton, one of our most conservative founding fathers, believed in protecting domestic manufacturing. The argument can be made that one of the reasons the American Revolution was fought because the British would not allow the colonies to manufacture goods, only export raw materials (George Washington "imported" a tailor to make his inauguration suit because there were none here).

Fourth: Enforce anti-trust laws: Too big to fail, too big to exist (think Wall Street). Merger and acquisition mania started in the 1980's and went berserk in the 2000's. It's not just banks, it's energy, communications, and retail. Small business does not stand a chance until they can compete against these giants (See step 3 Wal-Mart). Break them up like Teddy Roosevelt did.

Fifth: Cut the corporate tax rate to 25% and eliminate ALL tax loopholes. Currently, corporations account for less than 10% of treasury revenue (before the 1980's, it was over 25%), you and I pick up the rest of the tab. Time for them to pay their fair share. After all, they use the roads, power lines, and courts more than we commoners and we pay for it with our tax dollars. If you do business in the U.S., you pay OUR taxes (hear that, Dubai-based Halliburton). No more Cayman Island headquarters.

Finally: End the empire. Institute an UNCONDITIONAL draft for the military. We'll exit Iraq and Afghanistan tomorrow when politicians and lobbyists have to send their children to die. Close the over 600 foreign military bases not on our soil (How many other nations have foreign bases? India has one.). Cutting appropriations to the military industrial complex (Defense budget over 50% of U.S. discretionary spending) by 20% amounts to over $100 BILLION. Does the U.S. really need to spend more than the rest of the world (combined) on "defense?" That's offensive (pun and cliche intended).

Stay tuned: Campaign Finance Reform, repeal "No Child Left Behind," Medicare Part E (E is for everyone), progressive taxation, and Laissez-Faire Socialism.