The perfect fix for the economy

[bytor2112]

Rather than wasting trillions of dollars and giving bailouts to mismanaged corporation or allowing our elected representatives to continue to waste our tax dollars, let's do the following:

1. Give every working American over 50 $2 million dollars, with the requirement that they must retire. This should open up about 40 million new jobs.

2. Require each of these early retirees to buy (2) new American cars. This should help the car industry with at least 80 million new car orders.

3. Require each early retiree to buy a new $300,000 dollar home. This should help the building industry and get lending flowing again.

[MarginOfError]

Rather than wasting trillions of dollars and giving bailouts to mismanaged corporation or allowing our elected representatives to continue to waste our tax dollars, let's do the following:

1. Give every working American over 50 $2 million dollars, with the requirement that they must retire. This should open up about 40 million new jobs.

2. Require each of these early retirees to buy (2) new American cars. This should help the car industry with at least 80 million new car orders.

3. Require each early retiree to buy a new $300,000 dollar home. This should help the building industry and get lending flowing again.

You know, that's really not all that bad an idea. $2 million - $300,000 - 2 cars, we'll say that leaves in excess of $1.5 million to set aside for retirement. I know you hate government interference, but if your giveaway also stipulated that these early retirees put away $1.2 million for retirement, we could also reduce their social security payments, and alleviate some of the stress on that program.

Any other benefits to this one?

[pam]

Did you just get that email? If so you are really behind the times then. lol

[Guest Godless]

2. Require each of these early retirees to buy (2) new American cars. This should help the car industry with at least 80 million new car orders.

So rather than giving tax money to struggling US automakers (somthing I never supported, btw), you're proposing that we require private citizens to buy American cars using tax money that we're giving them? If you polish a turd, it's still a turd.

[Just_A_Guy]

No, Godless, it's genius. More senior citizens with cars = more senior citizens driving = more car wrecks = more cars that need to be replaced . . .

[bytor2112]

Did you just get that email? If so you are really behind the times then. lol

got it a while back...thought it fun to chat about.

[Dravin]

No, Godless, it's genius. More senior citizens with cars = more senior citizens driving = more car wrecks = more cars that need to be replaced . . .

You didn't take it a step further. More accidents = More deaths, probably amongst the senior citizens even further reducing the draw on Social Security.

[bytor2112]

So rather than giving tax money to struggling US automakers (somthing I never supported, btw), you're proposing that we require private citizens to buy American cars using tax money that we're giving them? If you polish a turd, it's still a turd.

I think the point is that the results would be instant and measurable in theory.

[Moksha]

The US auto industry doomed itself with the idea of planned obsolescence (cars made not to last). Even if we could not compete on price, if American cars had been known for their quality, they would still be sought after on the world market.

[Palerider]

The US auto industry doomed itself with the idea of planned obsolescence (cars made not to last). Even if we could not compete on price, if American cars had been known for their quality, they would still be sought after on the world market.

and Catering to the UAW union.....

[talisyn]

The US auto industry doomed itself with the idea of planned obsolescence (cars made not to last). Even if we could not compete on price, if American cars had been known for their quality, they would still be sought after on the world market.

I totally agree. I will take a 1975 Ford pickup over a 2009 Ford pickup any day, because I can fix almost any problem that might come up. I received a hard lesson when I sold my 1974 VW Beetle and bought a 1988 Mazda. Sure the Mazda was cute and spiffy but that meant nothing when I had to take it to a shop to fix things that would take a few hours on the Beetle. I hope one of the after-effects of this recession is tossing out the 'disposable society' in favor of the 'make things last society'.

Bytor, probably no surprise but I like that idea. We will see a jump in the economy the next 3 months due to people getting back tax refunds. Working at Wal-Mart I saw that the store plans on people spending their tax money there, and make special efforts to get especially those who get EIC to buy higher priced 'fancier' items they cannot afford the rest of the year. It improves Wal-Mart's bottom line before the tax year ends in Feb., which helps those who own stock in Wal-Mart. Trickle-up economics hasn't been disproven as effective

[bytebear]

Are you kidding me? My primary vehicle is a 1998 Ford. It has far outlasted any vehicle I have owned. Thy myth that American made cars are poor quality needs to die. The reason the auto industry is in trouble is that they have to deal with a unionized work force that simply cannot compete, not just against their foreign counterparts, but against auto makers based in the US whose workforce does not have extravagant pensions and over priced hourly rates. The simple fact is that American automakers are paying a massive chunk of thier payroll to people who have long since retired. It has absolutely nothing to do with quality of product.

[bytor2112]

It's more the details and the fit and finish of American cars that give them a bad rap. Cheap interior or cheap looking interiors. My wife drives a Mercedes ML500 and I have a BMW 530i, and there is NO comparing the attention to detail and the overall quality of the build or the performance.

[MarginOfError]

I think American auto makers are starting to catch up, but the Japanese surpassed the US auto industry back in the 50's when they adopted the Six Sigma-type principles. Now that the US has caught on, they've been catching up. They've still got a ways to go though.

Just for the record, if my wife could have the car she wants, it would be a Hyundai Santa Fe. I'd choose a Subaru Outback.

[FunkyTown]

The car I want is actually American-designed, though British built. I'll be purchasing it next year and have been looking forward to it since they announced it.

http://regmedia.co.uk/2009/03/05/ampera_1.jpg

The Ampera is based on the Chevy Volt and is so sexy, I would marry it in 3.2 seconds.

[Guest]

It's more the details and the fit and finish of American cars that give them a bad rap. Cheap interior or cheap looking interiors. My wife drives a Mercedes ML500 and I have a BMW 530i, and there is NO comparing the attention to detail and the overall quality of the build or the performance.

You can't compare an ML500 and a 530i to a Ford Taurus, my man. Different class.

But, I'll pit your ML500 and 530i to my CTS anyday (interior-wise). Especially the 530i. BMW's pay a lot of attention to the engine and put bare essentials in the interior. We can take the sound system for example - the BMW's logic7 sucks! My CTS boss system knocks the socks out of ya even without after-market subwoofers. And that iDrive - geez. CTS' pop-up nav screen is just way awesomer. And to think it is a GM product.

My CTS is currently at 110,000+ miles. No major problems yet.

And don't discount the Fords. They are really getting good at mobile electronics. Ford Work Solutions for the Ford trucks is the only one out there like it. Nothing compares.

[talisyn]

I never said I'd take any year Chevy over a Ford, FWIW. My point is that older vehicles can be fixed by the driver, all you need is a Chilton's manual and proper tools. Newer vehicles require the trained mechanic to hook it up to a diagnostic computer and then he/she has to decipher the code the poor vehicle is sending out. Then they can get to work. Most random people can't do that with the newer cars.

[boyando]

I never said I'd take any year Chevy over a Ford, FWIW. My point is that older vehicles can be fixed by the driver, all you need is a Chilton's manual and proper tools. Newer vehicles require the trained mechanic to hook it up to a diagnostic computer and then he/she has to decipher the code the poor vehicle is sending out. Then they can get to work. Most random people can't do that with the newer cars.

I think that everyone assumes that there is a big difference between the cars of today and the cars of years gone by, because when you look under the hood there is so much more to see.

The truth is, when you have a newer car, you can still fix it, with a Chilton's manual and a AutoZone. There is nothing magic about hooking up a diagnostic computer. It's all plug and play. Less to figure out than working the quotes on this site. Not all of us have the money for a diagnostic machine, but AutoZone does and they will print out what you need when it comes to a check engine light or just about anything else that your computer on your car is giving you fits, with.

Case in point. I bought a 04 Chevy Trailblazer a couple of years back, with high miles. After six months, the check engine light came on. I ran it down too the local AutoZone and they hooked up the machine. They told me that I had the wrong thermostat and that one of coil packs had gone bad.

I, in my pride thought there is no way this eight dollar an hour kid could have gotten it right. Especially for free. So I took it to a shop, were they charged me three hundred dollars, to replace a thermostat and a coil pack. Parts from AutoZone, one twenty five.

Oh, and I did choose a Chevy over a Ford, just because of the ergonomics.

[Moksha]

I'd choose a Subaru Outback.

Hard to beat a 2012 Mayan Sportster. That thing was made to rumble. Flashy too.

[FlaviusHambonius]

Rather than wasting trillions of dollars and giving bailouts to mismanaged corporation or allowing our elected representatives to continue to waste our tax dollars, let's do the following:

1. Give every working American over 50 $2 million dollars, with the requirement that they must retire. This should open up about 40 million new jobs.

2. Require each of these early retirees to buy (2) new American cars. This should help the car industry with at least 80 million new car orders.

3. Require each early retiree to buy a new $300,000 dollar home. This should help the building industry and get lending flowing again.

A most excellent idea bytor -- I love it.

I will turn 51 on Super Bowl Sunday -- Feb. 7 -- In which my Colts will present me with a great Birthday present with a victory -- The 2 mil would just be iceing on the cake -- A new home -- new cars -- and a early retirement.

I need to get you back to D.C.

[boyando]

file:///C:/Users/MAGNAT%7E1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.jpg

file:///C:/Users/MAGNAT%7E1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.jpgfile:///C:/Users/MAGNAT%7E1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.jpg

file:///C:/Users/MAGNAT%7E1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image005.jpg

Problem solved.

[deals_dog]

As long as New Zealanders can apply for this I am all for it. I will be 50 this year! The problem is however we don't seem to see to many US cars down here. Mind you I believe that the Japanese make cars that people seem to want to buy. My uncle has a 1967 Ford Mustang now that is one American car that I would not mind having.

[ozzy]

We could always completely abolish the idea of credit and any debt owed by credit. That would be the one thing I can think of to add to the OP. Otherwise I think that is a rather feasible idea. Oh, and as for the credit card thing, that is more cause I think it might be fun to see how those who are irresponsible debt builders would react to actually having to live in a budget.

[marianomarini]

Rather than wasting trillions of dollars and giving bailouts to mismanaged corporation or allowing our elected representatives to continue to waste our tax dollars, let's do the following:

1. Give every working American over 50 $2 million dollars, with the requirement that they must retire. This should open up about 40 million new jobs.

2. Require each of these early retirees to buy (2) new American cars. This should help the car industry with at least 80 million new car orders.

3. Require each early retiree to buy a new $300,000 dollar home. This should help the building industry and get lending flowing again.

As any other "simple solution" to "complex problem" it's fairy but unefficent! Numers and reality rarely fit toghether. Let see.

1. 40 milion new jobs. How many unemployed for this crisis? In wich field? How many can work into this kind of "new jobs"? Where are they placed? ecc. ecc.

2. This will require, as mentioned somewhere before, car industry will absorbe a lot of workers. Where they will came if (at least) 40 million are ritired? Other fields? Wich one. Electronic, IT, Wellness, .....?

3. USA is large I agree, but (at least) 20 million of new houses seem too many!

Unfortunately economy is a complex system and must be managed wisely and prudently!

Planned economies (read comunism) have shown that *man* is not wise enogh to do it!

Sorry for my bad English!

Edited January 24, 2010 by marianomarini

[Alice_Margatroid]

Number one fix for the economy: END THE FED

It's not about jobs and it's not about mismanagement. This recession/depression has been planned and induced by design. When you have a central bank that is 100% unaccountable to Congress, has the power to produce as much money as it wants AND controls the entirety of U.S. monetary policy, what do you expect to happen? The Federal Reserve has been the guiding hand in every monetary quagmire since it's inception. Kind of convenient how, in all of these supposedly "unforeseen" mishaps, the big banks always come out ahead, isn't it?

I suggest everyone read, or at least look into, the G. Edward Griffin book The Creature from Jekyll Island. It puts a lot of things into perspective.