We are about to elect another president and we are in the worst economic slump, I keep hearing, since the great depression. Who you vote for is your business and I hope you choose who ever will get us out of our recession the best. I for one do not want to continue to be bushed but that is just my feelings. I have some thoughts of my own to help fix our economic headache in what I think is the best ways but we all have our opinions. Here are just my thoughts and I am not that sure they are all that new, just not practiced or giving a chance.
Ok. In my layman way of thinking, my non expert but heavily observing way, I have some thoughts on what does not (historically) work to fix our economic recession and some thoughts on what might. Here goes.
Historically we have been living some form of trickledown economics for centuries. We have seen it called many things, including Ragononimcs and it; no matter what we have called it doesn’t seem to work for the same basic reasons.
Trickledown is basically designed to give the breaks primarily to the wealthy and the large corporations with the idea that they will “allow” spending and buying power to trickle down. In other words, we the middle and lower classes will get benefits at the stores (for food and clothing and other retail stuffs), in housing purchases and at the gas pumps etc. I think you get the idea. All this with tax relief, and other benefits, for the wealthy and the big corporations and not us (us, here in referred to as the middle and lower classes). All in all they (they, herein referred to as the wealthy and big corporations) get the benefits and it is up to them to help us. Here is where the problem for centuries with the trickledown stuffs is apparent, at least to me. It can be summed up in one word – GREED.
They will not let enough trickledown to give us any real help. This coupled with many jobs going overseas does tend to diminish the job getting and spending powers for us, the major majority of our population.
I have some suggestions. First, a major study and consideration should be given, again and this time with real interest, to a flat tax. This has been thought of and suggested many times before but has always been defeated because it does not directly benefit the rich and the powerful. After all, who makes the laws and, for whom do they always seem to make these laws? Not us.
So for me the flat tax will do several things. Let’s say it is set at 18%. I think a study should be done by the non politically inspired and influenced economic experts to determine the best percentage but I am using 18% in my example. What does this do?
First, it should be said that there are no exceptions to this percentage. We all pay the 18%, us and them, period, no loopholes. What this does, as I see it, is this. For one thing, there is more money in our pockets from our pay checks and that in itself gives us more buying power, more ability to spend, then what we have ever had. We can spend more at the food stores and gas stations and it makes it easier to pay our rent/mortgage as well as our regular monthly bills. We do tend to spend more if we have more left over after paying for the essentials, just common sense. This way we give more to the retail stores, the car dealers, etc. This is a better economic incentive then a one time or even a once in a while couple of hundred bucks from the Feds. After all, it takes better care of us for the day to day living then any once in a while, or one time extra check can ever do. And, what is really more important than taking care of the day to day living expenses, as well as saving for the future. That is funny since many of us can’t afford to save for the future as things are. And, you really can live better when you have more money than with less money. Otherwise you spend less. Maybe the Feds have taken more from us because the wealthy and powerful can afford the loopholes that we can’t afford so they get taxed less and the Feds have to get it from some place to make up the difference. Now who, or where, can that some place be, us maybe?
We can spend and save more so the economy is stimulated on a regular basis and the stores and corporations have increased daily sales which will make them happy. This I call TRICKLEUP economics and it has a much more common sense way of working for all of us then any TRICKLEDOWN system ever has. Eliminate the greed and have the money flowing up from us, in the form of spending because we can, and things can get rolling again. Maybe, just maybe, the companies can bring the manufacturing and services jobs back to America where it should be for us and we can engage more in fair trade overseas because our companies here have higher sales. The Feds should consider ways to bring them back as well. People in general do tend to spend more when they have more to spend and with a fair flat tax the government will get its fair share from both us and them so Uncle Sam should be happy without stressing us so much.
OK, TRICKLEUP is my layman’s way of thinking, my non expert but heavily observing way of offering a solution to our depressed recessing economy. By the way, I just think it’s funny that it seems to be only the wealthy and powerful that say we aren’t in a recession. Go figure… I think it’s just their greed popping up and their wanting to keep the status quo alive and well at our expense.
Consider this. If we spend more then maybe companies have less reasons, or excuses, to raise their prices, there too is a good reason for the Feds to consider TRICKLEUP economics and the flat tax. Of course there are factors not within our control that raise prices at the stores like the cost of goods going to the stores as well as shoplifting and other forms of shrink. I just think since we do not have control over those that we should more so take advantage of what we do have control of and that is our spending. We can actually dictate to some extent how a store operates with our spending and the more we can spend the more we can influence the stores in our favor. The spending can’t be done if our spending power continues to shrink and the less we spend, well, the more the economy will need to be stimulated by forces other than us.
Remember this. The Feds allow only a certain specific amount of money to be in distribution/circulation at any given time so let’s distribute it more feasibly for all of us, with more in our pockets. This way TRICKLEUP can work. Otherwise we will all continue to be economically TRICKLED down and depressed.
Just my thoughts.
