some solutions

Listening for months now to so many talking heads, commentators, economists, pundits and the like, I find i hard to believe that none of these ever discusses solutions in specific detail. Lots of smoke, but no fire. Lots of emotion but no thought. Here are a few thoughts on serious problem that we are experiencing, yet with a little thought one could come up with many tactics that could help solve many of these with a lot less effort or money.

Financial freeze, lending squeeze:

GM legacy health costs – instead of “giving” money to GM to help with these costs, forgive them this responsibility, give the retired workers a medical plan similar to what the Feds get and pay most of their premium. Make the retirees pay the small premium that government workers pay for an excellent plan. No one should feel they are getting something for nothing, otherwise they will abuse the privilege.

Car sales:

Help people buy cars and guarantee loans – to spur car sales, let the government temporarily compete with auto finance institutions by guaranteeing the car loans for a period of time. In case of default, repo the car and just give it back to the dealer.

Banks that are afraid to loan:

Set up Fed. Banks to loan money and compete with current commercial banks. Do what Hamilton did – open government banks of every street corner and people would love to borrow there. The loans would be guaranteed. DON'T just give the banks money to bail them out. Let old banks

compete with the new Federal banks on the same street. banks

Pete in Arlington, VA

Initial Welcome

This is my first venture into blogland and I am excited. After long career in the Federal Government and on the verge of retirement, I feel I am at liberty to express myself a bit more openly than I had allowed myself to do earlier. My desire is to share with my fellow bloggers, some of the incredibly interesting events of the last 45 years in the world of US Foreign Policy and the eight (8) presidents I have served.

This in no way implies that I would divulge materials that might in even the slightest way jeopardize the security of this wonderful land. On the contrary, my statements would be expressions of my own, personal opinions and observations on the pressing issues of the day. Of course a long and rich career at the center of US / Soviet Cold War History, for example, would form much of the reasoning underpinning my arguments and statements.

Thank you for reading and may you stay literate politically, because on voting day there are less and less of you each year.

Peter from Arlington, VA