a little extra cast cash

In the face of a recession, why increase your ability to produce, when there is no reason to think there will be people with money to buy whatever you make?

My POV on it is that everyone is facing higher fuel costs and that’s working it’s way through the economic system. Giving everyone who is on the edge a little extra cast could help us through a tight spot. Of course, some real fixes have to be instituted or we’ll be right back here next payday.

If they really wanted to do any good the first thing they’d do is repeal The Financial Services Modernization Act (Gramm-Leach-Bliley) signed into law by Bill Clinton

I don’t know all the parts of that bill, but it would certainly seem like some part(s) of it should be revisited.

Although how liquidity helps insolvency is anyone’s guess.

You’re driving along and you’re low on gas and your car is making weird noises. I offer you a gallon of gas as a short-term assist so you can get to a garage to check the car out. Do you go with that or demand the garage come to your car?

We need to outlaw interest rates above 10% …

We need a real deep paradigm shift to save this nation.

Maybe after indexing the minimum wage to a cola we could index maximum interest rate allowable to the fed funds rate + X% (perhaps FFR+10%).

We have an understanding in the Dem party of how to let the free enterprise system (such as it is) and use government to provide a safety net and to regulate around the edges to keep everyone drawing within the lines. It’s only some extreme cases where something like a government Soc. Sec. or health care plan need to be added to the private systems.

If you think of people first, as John Edwards does, it becomes a lot simpler and obvious.

Yes, infrastructure spending in the US would be fine as stimulus because US infrastructure is way run down. As long as there are no “bridges to nowhere”.

I saw a hearing Baucus ran where they discussed options and how to get the monies out as fast as possible. It would seem we don’t have a natural mechanism in government for doing this sort of program. I’d suggest, after this experience, that they devise such a mechanism to be used only in these kinds of crises. After all, it’s not like this isn’t going to happen again some time.

Well, nothing’s stopping them from doing an emergency bill now, but also doing a longer term one later?

That’s the sense I get of what they plan. Of course, the real longer-term plan is going to come from a Dem president in 2009.