Yesterday, Barack Obama outlined his plan for helping those of us closer to Main Street than Wall Street. The question is asked repeatedly: "What does this bailout mean to me?" The answer has been, "Not much." Until yesterday.
It is true that the current bailout money is directed to solutions within the fnancial system that provide the "lubricant" for getting our economy moving -- although slowly. There are no silver bullets, and the world's foremost economists cannot agree on a cleear path of solutions. That is because no one can predict the behavior of those with "discretionary funds." Will they act with prudence, greed, or take flight from the market?
For those of us suffering closer to the ground -- with mortgage payments, loss of jobs, high fuel prices, runaway healthcare costs -- we are going to need a different level of help. The Economic Rescue Plan proposed by Barack Obama yesterday answered the questions asked by those hurting the most. This is a Main Street Plan.
1. IMMEDIATE ACTION TO CREATE GOOD JOBS IN AMERICA
- A New American Jobs Tax Credit.
- Raise the small business investment expensing limit to $250,000 through the end of 2009.
- Zero capital gains rate for investment in small businesses.
- Save one million jobs through immediate investments to rebuild America’s roads and bridges and repair our schools.
- Partner with America’s automakers to help save jobs and ensure that the next generation of clean vehicles is built in the United States.
2. IMMEDIATE RELIEF FOR STRUGGLING FAMILIES
- A tax cut for 95 percent of workers and their families – plus seniors.
- Extend unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspend taxes on these benefits.
- Penalty-free hardship withdrawals from IRAs and 401(k)s in 2008 and 2009.
- Instruct the Treasury to allow seniors to delay required withdrawals from 401(k)s and IRAs.
- Funds to Counteract High Heating Costs this Winter.
3. DIRECT, IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE FOR HOMEOWNERS, NOT A BAILOUT FOR IRRESPONSIBLE MORTGAGE LENDERS
- Instruct the Secretaries of the Treasury and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to use their existing authority to more aggressively modify the terms of mortgages.
- Reform the bankruptcy code to assist homeowners and remove legal impediments to encouraging broader mortgage restructuring.
- 90 day foreclosure moratorium for homeowners that are acting in good faith.
- $25 Billion in State Fiscal Relief to Help Avoid Painful Property Tax Increases.
- Universal mortgage tax credit for homeowners.
4. A RAPID, AGGRESSIVE RESPONSE TO THE FINANCIAL CRISIS – USING ALL THE TOOLS WE HAVE
- Be prepared, if necessary, for broader assurances for credit to banks.
- Extend asset purchases to unfreeze other critical sectors.
- Make credit available to small business and state/local governments.
This is a plan that I can understand. We have to get him elected to get a plan like this.
For more details, go to
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6523359/Barack-O...
Posted By: Roger E Madison Jr
Tuesday, October 14th 2008 at 11:31AM
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