How to fix the economy

We're living in an economic mess brought on by greed, excess, and no regulations on so many industries that consumer empathy has taken a back seat to monitary gluttony.
The mortgage meltdown and credit crisis have created a rough situation for a vast number of folks. And...not just the poor and middle class are feeling it but many of the top money makers are as well (with the exception of those scoundrels on Wall Street who took over 18 billion in bonuses while we were bailing them out).

How can we fix this problem. Well...I've got some realistic suggestions. Of, course the government would have to enact legislation, but let's assume they will (a tough assumption, I know). I've outlined a skeletal version below.

First: Instead of letting banks foreclose on homes and homeowners, which leaves the lending institutions in the depressed real estate business, where they wind up selling (if they can) the properties at pennies on the dollar - make them re-issue new mortgages to the current homeowners at low fixed rates (3, 4, 5 percent) for 20, 30, 40 years.

This will prevent unwanted and/or unsellable houses on the market, have less bad paper on the books of banks, restore confidence in the public arena and create a messure of stabilty in the real estate market.

Plus, I'd give homeowners in depressed situations a six to nine month holiday on mortgage payments. This isn't so far fetched when you think how long the foreclosed properties would be sitting unsold. It would also allow for further stabilization and even the landing of a job.

Then, if the owner defaults, the normal foreclosure process can take over.

Second: I'd pass a bill that would set limits of 9 percent on the amount of interest that credit card companies could charge. This would lift a major burden on much of the credit drowning public. They'd still have to pay their cards, but they wouldn't be slowly chipping away at the principal while the interest keeps piling up like a garbage dump.

Third: I'd closely monitor every company that gets our money through bailouts. This would include real transparency with access by the public to current financial information over the internet. Corporate officers' salaries would be capped at a reasonable $500,000. Could you live on $500.000? Right! So can they. That's a lot of money. And...no bonuses. Aren't they hired to perform? The bonus is they get to keep their $500,000 a year job! Also - I'd make sure we got that 18+ Billion dollars back from the folks on Wall Street who took that money as bonuses. If they spent it...well then no more bucks for them.

The salary and bonus issue (I know a lot of you may have trouble with regulating those things) can be re-visited once the crisis is over.

Fourth: I'd give every tax payer tax credits for the money used to bailout companies. If you want and like tax cuts then that's fair. We're giving away our dollars and we should get something for it.

Fifth: Give extra tax credits to companies that invest in themselves and create jobs here in the states.

Sixth: Insure that every American has health insurance. That's another burden off our shoulders. It would create a psycological lift to all of our citizens. The stuff that the President talked about during the campaign made sense. Make sure that we all have the same package as congress. And, make premiums (or co-pays) very affordable.

Seventh: Let everybody know that as the economy gets back on its feet taxes will have to go up. How else are we gonna pay for this? Of course, if everyone has a job and companies are making a profit, then the burden won't be as bad.

Eighth: Make sure that every cent used to help corprations gets paid back. This should be a loan not a give away.

Ninth: Invest in our biggest resourse - people. Schools should gets lots of money for new buildings, better facilities, books, teachers, etc.

Tenth: Lots (even more than is proposed now) of cash into infrastructure. Lots. Wall Street fiddles while America implodes. Time to shift our priorities. Have you driven on our bridges, highways, and roads? Seen our transportation and electricity grids? Noticed the decaying city water systems? This investment would also include (as the President has suggested) real alternative energy systems. From wind and thermoelectric, to hydroelectic and solar. And...that includes how we run not only our homes and factories, but our vehicles as well.

Whew...that's it. Some suggestions for getting us out of this mess. Yeah they're sketchy, but there's only so much time to write this. Your comments are welcome.

Lastly: All these ideas are made with the overriding thought of job creation...lots of them. Let's go America - We Can Do It! Don't let the nay sayers (like the folks who keep telling us that "socialized" medicine doesn't work in Canada and Britain so it won't work here - then a few breaths later they say how innovative we Americans are - well, if that's the case we can figure out our own medical system that works!) push us down. Get up, get out, get going. Push the government to do it right.
After all they work for us!