As Americans watch in horror as the economy is nose-diving, it becomes obvious that our nation is desperately in need of a short-term solution, and a $500.00 stimulus check does not even come close to helping this nation stabilize our economy. At best, it’s a band-aid on a gaping wound that requires major surgery. With all due respect President Obama, we need a solution that will halt this economic crisis dead in its tracks, and there is a way to accomplish that endeavor without pouring billions of dollars into the failed financial sector. Millions of Americans consider it to be a slap in the face as we watch you authorize our taxpayer money being used to shore-up financial institutions when we know that the worst is yet to come. As previously reported, another round of credit card and auto loan defaults loom on the horizon – which will require even more money being funneled into our banking and financial sector as these institutions face another round of multi-billion dollar losses:

“Billions of dollars in auto and credit card debt held by banks are expected to default in 2009, after the billions in mortgage-backed debt that initiated the financial crisis.” LINK

It’s obvious from the above quote that the financial crisis is far from over, and the bulk of your solutions are long-term and will not stave-off the upcoming billions in losses to our financial sector. If the above quote proves to be true, and with Americans losing jobs by the thousands each day, the veracity of that quote is self-fulfilling; understanding that, it becomes obvious that the financial sector will lobby for more bailout money, and from what we have witnessed so far, it’s likely they will get what they want. I understand that it’s not “politically correct” to directly help the people themselves, as most decisions in Congress are influenced by the billions of dollars spent by K-Street, which in my opinion, illegally influences our Congress to act in the best interests of those whom are donating money and effectively bribing more than 97% of our entire Congress. The BBC also viewed lobbyists’ influence, especially as it pertains to the pharmaceutical sector, as nothing more than legalized bribery.

President Obama, how do you expect to stave-off this coming loss of billions of more dollars in the financial sector? Your long-term stimulus package won’t offer the jobs you promised for a very long time – and by then, the nation will be in the bowels of poverty. When the bulk of the population has lost everything they have worked their entire lives to acquire, how do you tell us that you did everything in your power to help the American people? Desperate times require desperate measures, and from my point of view, you’re listening to the wrong economic advisers – and your stimulus package is weak and will not help the economy anytime in the near future; if you don’t act now, you’ll witness the United States descend into chaos, and it will be on your watch – aided and abetted by your failure to understand that America is dying far quicker than anyone had imagined. If you fail to act decisively, our destruction will rest squarely on your shoulders even though this crisis was started by the Bush administration.

Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible for evil to triumph. – Haile Selassie

Consider this, President Obama; In a scaled down version of what I suggested in a previous article, I suggested using “Trickle-Up” economics to stave off our current financial crisis. I noted that on CNN, a woman suggested that the government use an economic stimulus that would grant every family, head of household, or individual of a certain age $25,000 dollars. This money would obviously be deposited in our banks, instantly giving the banks the liquidity they need. Furthermore, instead of another round of billion dollar losses on credit card and auto loans, this action would prevent this final phase of the economic crisis from occurring. People would have the money to pay for their credit cards, house payments, auto loans, and the injection of this money into the economy would instantly revive the economy if it was granted with specific restrictions and create millions of new jobs. Retail sales would pick-up immediately and consumer confidence would rise, instead of being at an all-time low!

President Obama, we’ve lost our manufacturing base and the United States is now a “service based” economy. We cannot continue being a service based economy, and it is essential to reinvigorate our small businesses and manufacturing sector(s). Make it mandatory that 80% of this “stimulus money” is spent on American made products. If you believe the government can start up our industry again, think about how fast American business will ramp-up operations to claim their part of the bailout money; I guarantee is will be far faster than Washington’s bureaucracy. Jobs are created the natural way, by consumer confidence and spending. Our major corporations have spat on the people by sending our jobs overseas, paid themselves billions in bonuses from taxpayer money and instead of our purchases helping the American economy, we prop-up governments that manipulate their currency, adding to the crisis we now face. Some people, and especially the GOP would label this as protectionism; it isn’t, it’s a matter of restoring our economy and our manufacturing sectors and refusing to allow corporate America to rob and plunder the people of the United States. Survivalism is not protectionism, it’s a matter of saving our nation.

Late last night, On Anderson Cooper’s 360, he was interviewing the “talking heads” and one of them quipped that “giving the poorest people in America a large cash benefit” would help to improve the economy far quicker than your stimulus plan, and even though he was being sarcastic – he inadvertently hit the nail on the head. His final thoughts on the matter were that we prop-up the financial sector first, wait a few months, and see what happens. That mentality has already brought forth a national disgrace. The New York Times is reporting that:

What Red Ink? Wall Street Paid Hefty Bonuses

By BEN WHITE

Despite crippling losses, multibillion-dollar bailouts and the passing of some of the most prominent names in the business, employees at financial companies in New York, the now-diminished world capital of capital, collected an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses for the year.

That was the sixth-largest haul on record, according to a report released Wednesday by the New York State comptroller.

While the payouts paled next to the riches of recent years, Wall Street workers still took home about as much as they did in 2004, when the Dow Jones industrial average was flying above 10,000, on its way to a record high. Some bankers took home millions last year even as their employers lost billions. (The emphasis on certain passages of this Op-Ed were mine.) MORE

I’m not used to working with numbers that large, but I believe that 18.4 Billion Dollars divided by 25,000 = 736,000.00. Imagine if just the bonuses of these blood-sucking CEO’s would have been divided-up between 736 thousand households and the immediate consumer spending that would begin almost instantly. Expand those figures tenfold, and then consider that at a cost of 184 Billion Dollars, 7 million, 360 thousand households, primarily those in the most distress – would suddenly be able to pay their mortgages, credit card and auto loan debt, and if you expanded the program enough, to maybe half of the total bailout, a second wave of foreclosures, credit card default, and auto loans would not default, thus bailing out the banks before the crisis begins. – that action alone would inject huge amounts of money directly into the economy and stave-off the billions of dollars that are forecast to be lost in the financial sector from bad credit card debt and auto loans in 2009. The banks will have no reason to request more taxpayer bailout money, as the economy would be jump-started with what I consider to be the life-support this nation needs. It’s synonymous with using electricity to bring back a patient suffering from a heart attack; the ability of Doctors and EMT’s to understand when a patient needs to be shocked back to life is one of the final measures in saving a heart attack victim (in some cases) – and it’s saved hundreds of thousands of lives. Unless this is a bottom-up bailout, the suffering and death in our nation will continue. With the forecast of financial institutions losing billions of more dollars in 2009, why not pay the money to the people and kill two birds with one stone? Perhaps every member of the Congress and the White House have forgotten one factor, it’s OUR money, the resulting debt will wind-up in our grandchildrens laps, and “we the people” deserve to enjoy at least some of our tax dollars after the drubbing we’ve taken from corporate America.

American lives are at stake too, based solely on the financial crisis and the despair of knowing that the job you just lost cannot be replaced:

With no job and 5 kids, ‘better to end our lives,’ man wrote

But even more incomprehensible to some was the story that emerged after the bodies were found Tuesday: A father who, after he and his wife were fired from their jobs, killed all six family members before turning the gun on himself.

In a letter faxed to Los Angeles television station KABC before his suicide, Ervin Antonio Lupoe blamed his former employer for the deaths, detailing his grievance against Kaiser Permanente’s West Los Angeles Medical Center, where he and his wife Ana had worked as technicians.

Lupoe claimed the couple was being investigated for “misrepresentation of our employment to an outside agency for the benefit to ourselves’s [sic], childcare.” He said the initial interview was held on December 19, and when he reported for work on December 23, “I was told by my administrator … that ‘You should not even have bothered to come to work today. You should have blown your brains out.’” MUCH MORE

Kaiser Permanente stated “we are confident that no one told him to take his own life or the lives of his family.” Who do we believe? A large corporation – or the last words from an individual (who may have been mentally deficient and/or clinically depressed) that knows his life was about to end. There is a possibility it was a supervisor that was tired of doling out bad news, had a hard day, or was just an A**hole. In most cases of those who are passing on, it is truth and confessions that pour from their mouths, not lies. We’ll never know where the truth actually lies, but it’s the vision of no hope and a belief that their jobs were irreplaceable in a time of firings, lay-offs, and attrition – the father (and possibly the mother) appeared to have lost all hope, and this is only one example of many where senseless violence is on the rise in the United States in a nation that is in utter despair.

And today, I noted that an Ohio family had succumbed to murder/suicide, and while the police are not releasing the contents of the suicide note at this time, they make it a point to add the father was employed by Honda and was employed at the time of this tragedy. Whether or not it’s related to Honda moving some of their manufacturing from the U.S. to China was not mentioned and at this time remains a mystery – but the horrific crimes continue to add-up, indicating that the murder/suicides are mounting.

It takes a man of courage and an ability to act in the people’s best interests that has the ability to save this nation – and the courage I speak of would have to be monumental. The GOP would go crazy knowing the people themselves were going to benefit in a meaningful manner. The lobbyists on K-Street would be throwing money around like it was candy, and the elite would view such legislation as socialism or in our rabid right-wing’s language, treason. To make the tough decisions, you have to know what’s in the offing:

New Report: 30 Million Service Jobs May Be Shipped Overseas

by James Parks, Jan 23, 2009

Recent telecommunications advances, especially the Internet, could theoretically put more than 30 million U.S. jobs at risk of being exported overseas. Services previously needed to be performed domestically theoretically can be done anywhere in the world through the Internet, four U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) analysts say in an article appearing in the agency’s Monthly Labor Review (subscription required).

The 160 occupations considered capable of being performed in other countries account for some 30.3 million workers, one-fifth of total U.S. employment and cover a wide array of job functions, pay rates and educational levels.

More than half of the vulnerable jobs in the BLS study are professional and related occupations, including computer and mathematical science occupations and architecture and engineering jobs, and many office and administrative support occupations also are considered susceptible. MUCH MORE

The above report, which is more than sobering, indicates that the job market in the United States is extremely vulnerable because of globalization. It’s imperative to use your oratory skills and make it patriotic to buy American. The best price isn’t always the best deal! It isn’t hype, politics, or rhetoric; it’s the truth. We may never reach our former economic status, but to exist with some amount of dignity, we need bring to bring the bulk of our jobs back home. Corporations have to be re-educated that they have to be friendly to the American people and actually represent the needs of the people. And yes, it’s an extremely profitable venture. (But you do have to make money the “old fashioned way.”)

An article I just stumbled across today indicates the government is expecting trouble on a scale that could affect most of us, especially those who do not agree with the government or rise-up and demand justice and equality. I had hopes that with President Obama, the FEMA Internment camps might become a sad memory of the Bush administration. I was wrong. This is pending legislation that the MSM is not reporting upon, or if they have, it certainly hasn’t been covered with the scrutiny it deserves:

Congress Seeks To Authorize & Legalize FEMA Camp Facilities

Source: www.roguegovernment.com

By: Lee Rogers

A new bill has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives called the National Emergency Centers Act or HR 645. This bill if passed into law will direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish national emergency centers otherwise known as FEMA camp facilities on military installations. This is an incredibly disturbing piece of legislation considering that the powers that be have already set in motion an agenda to setup a nationwide marital law apparatus through U.S. Northern Command and the Department of Homeland Security. Apparently, the fusion centers, militarized police, surveillance cameras and a domestic military command is not enough. Even though we already know that detention facilities are already in place, they now want to legalize the construction of FEMA camps on military installations using the ever popular excuse that the facilities are for the purposes of a national emergency. With the phony debt based economy getting worse and worse by the day, the possibility of civil unrest is becoming a greater threat to the establishment. One need only look at Iceland, Greece and other nations for what might happen in the United States next. With this in mind, it appears as if these so called national emergency centers will be used in a national emergency but only if the national emergency requires large groups of people to be rounded up and detained. If that isn’t the case, than why have these national emergency facilities built in military installations?

Let’s look through the various portions of the bill. Here is section 2 of the bill taken directly from the proposed legislation.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY CENTERS.

(a) In General- In accordance with the requirements of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish not fewer than 6 national emergency centers on military installations.

(b) Purpose of National Emergency Centers- The purpose of a national emergency center shall be to use existing infrastructure–

(1) to provide temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance to individuals and families dislocated due to an emergency or major disaster;

(2) to provide centralized locations for the purposes of training and ensuring the coordination of Federal, State, and local first responders;

(3) to provide centralized locations to improve the coordination of preparedness, response, and recovery efforts of government, private, and not-for-profit entities and faith-based organizations; and

(4) to meet other appropriate needs, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security. MUCH MORE

This Bill is covered on Govtract.US and is dated January 22, 2009. President Obama, this action is being carried out on your watch. I believe the people have a “right to know,” and we expect you to honor your promise of transparency in government. Rather than re-establishing the rule of law, actions such as this, without the proper public disclosures, do not vie well with your promises of transparency. With all due respect, what the heck is going on?

President Obama, by taking bold action, you have the ability to make these FEMA Camps unnecessary by acting in a bold and decisive manner. After reading about this Bill, and the associated commentary, I feel like the American people might as well talk to a rock or simply bash our heads against the wall. These are the type of actions that we would expect from the Bush administration, not a newly elected President that has promised that “change has come to America.” Based on the above mentioned Bill and its ramifications, I believe it’s time for you to explain to the nation exactly what “change” we can expect. Right now, until I hear otherwise, I’m disgusted, and believe that “EndGame” is still a reality, and now that there are Bills flying under the radar in Congress, nothing you’ve done is diminishing those fears.

William Cormier

Footnote: I find it extremely disconcerting that while the nation is focused on the economy, this Bill rears its ugly head on the second day that President Obama was sworn into office. It seems that while our attention is diverted to our failing economy and more of the politics of fear, the government seems to be solidifying its plans for martial law and the internment of God knows how many of our citizens. The only “bailout” I’d like to see now is a Passport and enough money to get out of this country before we fall into utter chaos and tyranny. Read “Astonishing Incongruities: Is It Time to Bail Out of the US?” by Paul Craig Roberts; it is becoming obvious that for those whom have the money, escape from the United States could/should be a viable option.

Update 1-30-09: I received a comment from a member of the BuzzFlash community who stated: “Interesting idea, wrapped in feary (My emphasis.)package.” The response is listed below, and while my intention was not to instill fear, while writing the article, I stumbled across HR 645, and it stopped me in my tracks. I was astounded. disappointed, and began to understand that in Washington, it’s business as usual. The “bottom-up” stimulus would work, and some of the other ideas that accompany this idea are contained below, but not all of them. I’m still reeling with the anger and disappointment that comes with finding out that Congress is expecting the worst and authorizing more FEMA Internment Camps. They must know their bailout program will be ineffectual and seem to be preparing for disaster. I guess they can’t wrap their heads around the idea that the money they are spending is ours, and we should have a say-so in the matter, not be ignored while lobbyists get the ear of every influential Congressman on the Hill.

“The intent of the article was never intended to be fear based. In fact, there were many more points I had intended to make that support the premise of a “trickle-up” bailout actually working – and at a speed that would astonish the world! The conditions that would be set could all be engineered to invigorate our own economy, not that of other nations. Take me for example; I’m disabled and am on Social Security Disability. Believe me, I am writing from the battle-field, and our own family may face homelessness within the next week or two. I don’t expect donations or even an “I’m sorry about that” because we are representative of millions of other Americans, some in way worse shape than ourselves. I drive a 1998 Ford with 140K miles, and it gets 15-16 MPG. Under the stimulus package I propose, because of my income, I would be required to trade-in my current car and buy a used car not more than three (3) years old. It would have to have an average MPG of at least 22 MPG. Based on the individual, the auto they would have to purchase would rise in newness and MPG, and in some cases, those who are still somewhat “financially secure” would be required to purchase an American-made hybrid.

We’re also bailing-out the auto industry; if you really want to be creative, instead of handing them lump sums of cash, do it from the “bottom-up” too, and have the government subsidize a certain percentage of the cost of a new hybrid based on the individuals income. Again, the people win, we reduce our dependence on foreign oil significantly, our own auto industry is saved, American jobs are created and our own industry – the core of our economy will come back home, and only then will the middle-class be re-established and long-term employment will again be the norm rather than the deviation. Any time the proper groundwork is prepared, a bottom-up financial bailout effectively kills two birds with one stone and saves the financial sector as Americans regain their confidence and massive spending forces U.S. Corporations to bring their manufacturing capability back home and make sure that those jobs go to American families.

The growth of new, small businesses would be phenomenal. It takes large corporations a lot of planning and time to accomplish anything, while wily entrepreneurs will spring into action and start to provide the mandatory goods required to adhere to the stipulation that 80% of the funds are used to purchase American-made products. If you look at the two trillion that has already been spent, if it would have been applied in another manner, the markets would have corrected themselves without government bailout funds – and quite frankly, the attitude of the nation would exceed any time in our recent or past history.

Yes, it is a “freebe” for the people as it pertains to a sudden windfall. Nonetheless, it is the quickest way to revitalize the economy, and in a pre-planned manner that creates long-lasting jobs that will be bolstered by instilling a strong sense of patriotism for purchasing goods, whenever possible, that we manufacture in our own nation. THAT was the premise that initially made Wal-mart successful; Sam Walton’s insistence that his stores primarily sold American-made goods was good for U.S. businesses, and even though he squeezed them for good prices by buying in bulk, Wal-Mart helped to keep millions of our population employed that worked in sectors that supplied goods to the retail sector of our economy. We need to get back to the basics.

Executive orders would have to be issued to prevent the price of used cars from sky-rocketing because the owners realize that soon, business will go through the roof! The bulk of these funds would be deposited, probably by electronic means, into all of our banking accounts. The government could mandate that banks carry a responsibility to make sure that purchases over a certain amount are applied to our own products, and only use the banks to take on the most minimal “stewardship” of our money to ensure that the guidelines of the bailout criteria would be met. If you allow the banks too much oversight, or force them into that position, it will be the banks who decide what we buy – and I believe that most people would find that completely unacceptable. I choose the banks as a method for oversight because it will be minimal, and all of us know the pile of forms and the time it takes to get anything accomplished through a government agency. Besides, we need less government in our lives, not more. I’m sure the Govt. could install an oversight agency for this task, and believe me, it would be huge and cost the taxpayers even more as our government creeps into our daily lives.

Everyone will not spend their money responsibly, and shame on them! The government should warn the public that this is a one-time only bailout, explain that it will be our grandchildren that will eventually pay-off this debt, and to use it as wisely as possible. For those who don’t listen, life could be harsh, they will spend their money the fastest, but even as they squander what could be our last hope to save this economy, their inability to take it serious will still help the economy as they unwisely spend their share of the bailout money and help to invigorate this economy. Every flim-flam artist in the world will be out to fleece the people receiving such a rebate/stimulus, and people will have to be wary, which is why banks will be charged with monitoring large expenditures.

A bottom-up stimulus package would work, but in Washington, it’s business as usual, and if you’re reading this comment, it’s likely that you’ve already read about the Chamber of Commerce, one of our most influential lobby’s – who are grumbling about “Protectionism” because of some of the talk in Congress in regard “buying American.” The Chamber of Commerce is no friend to the average American. They are a powerful lobby that represents big and small business alike, however, their main contributors and most influential members are “Big Business”, and if the COC lobbies for it, you can bet it will benefit big business, not the people. America never was a “service based economy”, and while I hear some comments about protectionism, I believe they are not considering that our economic base has been distorted and altered in the past few years, and attempting to bring it back to acceptable levels that will sustain the American people is not protectionism, it’s survival of the American way of life – albeit somewhat diminished.

President Obama entered his Presidency with what many deemed to be a “Dream Team” of economists; from what I understand, they have largely been ignored, and we are faced with a package that is destined to fail and will require another round of huge bailouts for the financial sector. Let’s get this economy jump-started in a way that will return our manufacturing capability; tell the President to enforce our anti-trust laws, especially as it pertains to Monsanto and their efforts to bankrupt every small farmer they can – and embrace the democratic republic that once had a much softer view in regard the people. The only hope we have without millions more Americans losing everything they have depends on a bailout that works and “we the people” should demand an economic package where banks have to make money the old fashioned way. It is wholly unnecessary to bailout banking and financial institutions. I wish I had a way to know that a “bottom-up bailout” was being considered, but as we watch business as usual begin to settle-in in Washington, what works is called socialism,. and what doesn’t work is good, old fashioned bribery and politics.

William Cormier

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