Republished Article
Original (5 Nov 2008)
Obama has proposed restoring the PAYGO policy that prohibits increases in federal spending without a way to compensate for the lost revenue.
So what can a new Administration propose that would address our economic problems under the umbrella of PAYGO? Why not move away from the central banking / warfare model and decentralize the economy in a way that actually makes money for people?
Here are some initial ideas that could reduce the drain on the real economy and kickstart new growth. Please post your own ideas below…
1. Return the issuance of currency to the US Treasury and create an alternative depository function rather than using the NY Fed;
2. End the manipulation and suppression of the precious metals prices;
3. Reverse changes over the last decade that allow financial institutions and credit card companies to practice usury;
4. Implement compliance with laws related to audited financial statements for the US government and publish the federal budget and financials on a place-based basis so that voters can see the federal financial performance by congressional district and county;
5. Publish federal agency contract budgets, contracts and payments;
6. Publish totals for intelligence agency and national security budgets that are currently confidential;
7. Create a process for streamlined waivers whereby county and states may apply for an receive waivers of federal laws and regulations that permit reengineering of federal programs, credit, expenditures and rules within communities that are PAYGO neutral or positive and improve return on investment to taxpayers;
8. Encourage the creation and use of local currencies;
9. Direct the Securities and Exchange Commission to review and improve methods for non-accredited investors to invest locally;
10. Legislate a special tax on recipients of bonuses resulting in compensation in excess of that of the senior civil service for firms receiving bailout benefits;
11. Authorize and encourage federal agencies to engage in debt-for-equity swaps with municipalities and counties that wish to assume ownership and responsibility for local assets owned by the US government or any financial institutions in federal government conservatorship or financed by federal government bailouts and arrange for market makers in the resulting equity securities;
12. Encourage the prototyping and implementation of energy and healthcare technology and techniques; use enforcement agencies and offices to protect entrepreneurs and venture capitalists from dirty tricks by public and private parties attempting to prevent the application of energy-saving and life-saving knowledge;
13. End the chemtrails spraying program;
14. Require strict labelling for all genetically modified food, phase out its legality;
15. Promote self-sufficiency skills and financial literacy in both grade school and high school curriculums;
16. Pardon and release from prison non-violent offenders of drug use crimes;
17. Outlaw most financial derivatives and authorize the creation of exchanges and stocks that have the authority to prevent the creation of puts, options and derivatives related to their activity;
18. Encourage local government to use participatory budgeting.
19. Authorize and fund a third party audit of the US gold reserves.
20. Determine and implement provisions to increase the ease with which funds in 401ks and IRAs can directed to local investment.
Solari Report Blog Commentaries
Restoring Freedom In Tennessee
(28 June 11)
Vigorously prosecute liars and deceivers and cheaters and thieves within
corporations, banks, other financial institutions, and government agencies.
Sentence them to live with pigs in troughs for 15 years or so and show video
of the day-to-day goings on, on a well-publicized site.
I would require as a condition to most federal and state contracts that the contractors:
(1) be required to be formed in the US and pay US taxes
(2) get very significant extra credit in the awarding process for supporting the employment of US citizens and legal residents
(3) be required to support energy conservation and green policies, or get extra credit in the award process for doing so
(4) have limits on executive pay (e.g., maybe only 50 times the average worker salary) and stock options
I would get the federal government out of the business of exercising state powers, e.g., in laws dealing with usury and many criminal offenses (e.g., hate crimes, murder), abortion, marriage, etc.
In general, I would restore civil rights guaranteed under the Constitution, particularly rights to be free from intrusion of the government in private affairs, and require that all publicly-funded high schools and grade schools spend serious time in teaching civics, Constitutional issues and community responsibility. I would dismantle the spy programs for collecting private data on Americans and greatly limit what databases US government contractors can keep.
I would encourage states to revoke the corporate charters of corporations that are not good citizens and I would severely limit the circumstances under which corporations enjoy rights of personhood. Death penalty to corporate murderers and thieves.
I would change SEC disclosure requirements for public companies so that they quantify the damage they do to the enviroment, health, employment and other sectors of the economy and society so that we can tax them for the costs the taxpayers have to bear to clean up after them and stop subsidizing anti-environmental and community-damaging behavior.
I would have the US government make low-interest student loans directly (and not through financial institutions) and limit how much of college endowments can accumulated in a tax-advantaged manner if they do not pass through significant benefits in the form of lower tuition to students.
I would divert enforcement personel at DOJ and other enforcement agencies from war on drugs and war on terror to interagency task forces charged with getting back the taxpayers’ money from corporatist (particularly Wall Street) thieves and market manipulators. Get back the “unaccounted for” adjustments against Treasury at HUD and DOD/Pentagon.
I would impose regulations under the Bail-Out legislation (1) restricting executive pay, bonuses and golden parachutes at any corporation receiving benefits, (2) requiring banks to use bail-out money for loans to worthy individuals and businesses instead of to acquire smaller banks, (3) eliminating tax benefits that encourage small bank take-overs, (4) allocating significant funding for purposes that promote creation or safeguard jobs, including “green” energy and environmentally friendly projects and public works projects for the restoration of infrastructure and (5) funding and supporting trickle-up measures to reduce the number of home foreclosures and the number of foreclosed families who lose their housing, including measures that would make mortgage holder “rescues” contingent upon renegotiation of predatory loan terms, imposition of fixed rates of interest and credit towards loan principal in the amount of excessive and predatory fees paid by the borrowers for their loans.
I would impose a tax on companies to the extent they employ offshore employees rather than US citizens/legal residents and provide deep tax incentives for worker training and re-training programs.
I would impose an alternative minimum tax on corporations so that there is no such thing as a multibillion-dollar corporation that pays multimillion-dollar benefits to senior executives and pay no federal taxes.
Catherine,
I am listening to you on Coast to Coast on Nov 4th. Honestly, I would love to see Obama listen to you and bring you into his circle of advisers somehow. May be that is pushing it, since I know he owes a lot to the powers that backed him, but I also know that is a good man and has a genuine heart to want to help the people.
I am bringing this desire in to my meditation time. I hope that is okay with you! I have started doing Heart Rhythm Meditation (actually originally first taught by an Apostle!). I have been able to bring myself back into a place of gaining energy and being stronger then my 94 yr old mom’s energy drain, so I am inspired now. The science of the heart through Heartmath has shown how the heart is strongest energetic oscillator in the body and there are more connections between the heart and brain then visa versa. Whatever else Obama may or may not be, he is man that has a strong heart.
I have learned a lot recently how life is just not black and white and people aren’t either. We don’t know everything and we can’t see everything. Quoting a friend: It’s the heart that creates harmony, even between predator and prey.
Back in 2004, there was man who was as far as I was far left. We worked together, and major battles about the Iraqi etc. To make a long story short, we grew to be like brother and sister. Because there was a deeper truth that we found. He died a few years later and we had a tremendous spiritual bond. I learned that I could love someone who held opposite views and that understanding him and why could take us deeper than the differences.
I feel it is this kind of “beingness” that can change enemies into friends. I feel it is this kind of energy that we need more of and I feel that it is this kind of energy that has a power to work in ways that the mind of men/women can’t. It is this energy that I saw for a short time on Nov 4th. It was electric, and even if it doesn’t last, something happened as Americans came together. I will pray for Obama, that he follow is heart. It will be tough in his shoes, but I feel better trusting his heart and trusting my heart. The heart is now being brought into business more and more. Doesn’t mean we become stupid or uninformed.
Catherine has the heart, experience and intelligence to help us through these times.
Could you give an example or two of #11 debt swaps
I have two suggestions — the first is my “20 tasks now that the election is over” — which focuses on individual actions, http://www.bobwaldrop.net/?p=91 . These tasks are within the ability of most people, and don’t depend upon government action. If somehow as a miracle, the government were to “get a clue” and decide to do something actually useful, I think the place to start is this http://www.denninger.net/letters/genesis.pdf plan which gets at the systemic risks and deals with the big issue of transparency and accurate market knowledge, which I think is at the root of the credit problems.
That is the right question. If sufficient Americans would decentralize our household deposits, purchases, donations, investments and other cash flows, we could begin to create political leverage in Congress and organize to shift the center of gravity to regional and smaller banks. This would give us an economic foundation to organize greater local economic self sufficiency and from that platform we could begin to litigate a series of key issues…keep going we could work our way to abolishing the Fed. It would require regular organization and action that would sequence and build toward it. It is possible.
Let’s start with your first suggestion:
1. Return the issuance of currency to the US Treasury and create an alternative depository function rather than using the NY Fed
It’s a fine idea, but they won’t give this up without a fight. Given that the NY Fed and friends own all the key political figures in Washington (that means Obama AND McCain, Pelosi, Paulson … pretty much everybody), how can this fight be won?
— JB