US Economic Crisis Options: Dabble, dither, dump, default, destroy or be daring

US Economic Crisis by Dr. David Goldenberg: Strategies to Deal with the Economy (before late is too late.)

[Dr. Goldenberg is the author of Creating Condo & Homeowner Association Documents and The Art of War 3: Canons of Commerce.]

Here’s a mutually exclusive and exhaustive list of the broad families of strategies to deal with the current U.S. economic crisis. Which would you prefer? Tell your Congressmen.

I. Dabble and dither: This is our current strategy. Both political parties persist in offering variations of this inferior choice. Why inferior? Because the specific proposals either address only part of the problem or are economically unsound or ineffective. Each political party takes turns proposing treatment(s) which the other adamantly opposes. Relying primarily on an austerity program, a special case of fiscal policy, is one example. A dabbling and dithering strategy enables politicians to avoid doing anything they might later regret personally while allowing them to continue to hope that the problem eventually will evaporate without changing the status quo.

II. Devalue: Previously known as inflation or printing money wherein worthless dollars are used to pay off our debts. This special case of monetary policy simply would make things much worse. (Monetary policy is the exclusive province of the Federal Reserve Bank. But the Fed recently admitted that it has all but exhausted the power of monetary policy except for devaluation. Presumably the Fed hopes that some other policy set [fiscal, human, …] or combination will do the job. Finding that set is up to some other part(s) of the government. Viewed positively, this is an opportunity to earn lots of curses in Mandarin.)

III. Dump on other countries: Boost our economy by exporting more. Exports are such a tiny part of our economy that even tripling exports wouldn’t help much. Besides, the potential target countries are too weak economically to buy so vast a quantity of exports.

IV. Default: renege on the prior commitment to repay the debt and interest on it. Defaulting not only would cause a long and deep global recession but also would ruin the U.S. dollar’s reputation as having the world’s safest currency.

V. Destroy: World War II brought the world out of the Great Depression. But a replay is unaffordable today in both blood and treasure.

VI. Daring: Several generations of ignorant, desperate and apathetic voters allowed short-sighted, self-serving politicians to unintentionally create this mess. A consensus of experts’ recommendations is more likely to get us out of this mess than any proposals by the politicians who caused it or let it happen.

© 2011 David I. Goldenberg, Ph.D. Boynton Beach, FL USA

 

Townhall Protests + Obama Health Care + Congress = Pandora’s Box: Citizens vs Congress.

Rights Radio w/ Dr. Joyce Starr: Have Townhall Protests Over ObamaCare Opened Pandora’s Box re Citizens vs Congress? Are the toughest questions only an election away? Show Date: August 13, 2009.

Members of Congress, as we pointed out previously, receive their income for life – no matter how many or few years they serve – and the best healthcare your money cannot buy.

Yet, the citizens have no real control over their votes or actions, have little information about campaign contributors (until watchdog groups demand this information) and are left in the dark about the lobbyists who court Members of Congress once they’re elected.

Is this about to change? Is the present prologue? [See our article and listen to our show on Mandated Healthcare. Obamacare: Will Senior Citizens be Safe or Sorry With Government Mandated Healthcare? Valid Solution or www.Healthcare.con?]

Tough Questions for Member of Congress:

• Can you promise I will not lose my private plan or doctor under any healthcare bill
  that you vote for?
• Can you promise that you will enroll in the new healthcare plan if it passes?
• Can you promise that the healthcare plan you vote for will not lead to higher deficits?
• Can you promise that government bureaucrats will not ration health care?
• Can you promise to personally read every bill you vote on?
• Can you promise to disclose all money and gifts you receive from lobbying groups on your website?
• Can you promise that you will vote to reduce retirement benefits to Members of Congress
  and restrict the number of years that such benefits can be received?
• Can you promise to hold regular Town Hall meetings in your state and listen to questions raised?

How to Listen: Bookmark this page. You can listen to the instant replay below. You can also hear the show live on our Self Help Hour page on August 13 at 6:00 pm EST.

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To your empowerment!

Dr. Joyce Starr