I used to say that all I ask of Obama is that he win.

[Plaid Adder]

I now ask two things. Win, and find a way to stop the entire U.S. economy from imploding.

Has he rolled out any new ideas about this recently? I've seen the 2-minute economy commercial but it did not have a whole lot of specifics in it.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

[Labors of Hercules]

1. You're still only asking for one thing...

If he wins, the economy will purr like a kitten.

As will the United States Government.

The only people who will be hurting are the ones who've been fucking us for the past 8 years. COUNT ON IT!!!

[abumbyanyothername]

2. Here's my plan if not Obama's

You know what? If we are going to spend a fucking trillion fucking dollars to protect "the economy" from the adverse effects of all these bad lending decisions, why are we doing it like this?

My 6 step plan:

1) Let the financial sector collapse completely if that is what is going to happen. Who gives a shit about speculators' financial assets -- and that includes anyone who owns stocks or other paper here. Why should America, or Amerika bail you out? No one forced you to buy stocks. No one forced anyone to lend any of these companies money. Why are we taking our tax dollars to pay the creditors of our private companies?

2) Take about $300 Billion of the $1 Trillion and start building a mass transit infrastructure that will make us forget our love affair with the internal combustion engine automobile. Build a system that can accept individual transportation units for the final mile, two or five, but aggregates these units into bunches for longer trips. Units should be capable of being powered by various alternative fuels.

3) Take another $300 billion and invest in community owned, distributed renewable energy -- small towns and villages across the nation owning their own power companies once again, but fuel free power companies that merely harvest sunshine and wind. This could be in the form of a loan that communities repay over time from usage fees.

4) Set aside $100 billion for a sustainable community initiative. Buy up tracts of current mono-crop producing land and mega farms and relocate displaced city dwelling laborers to virtually self-sustaining agricultural communities divided into 10-20 acre plots and orchards. Educate people about and support a life-style choice that emphasizes sustainability and current quality of life over unlimited accumulation, growth, avarice and profiteering.

5) Devote $100 billion to worker retraining. Move people out of the financial sector and into the renewable energy sector. Also, re-tool automotive plants to make new, energy efficient, renewable energy powered transportation systems. Bring back the rust belt.

6) Finally, put $200 billion into a safety net program that provides emergency food and shelter to a abruptly displaced work force. Or not. This just fills out the entire $1 trillion.

This way the money would do us some good, and lead us into the future instead of going to the creditors of failed businesses who knew that they were lending to businesses that could fail when they made their loans.

[Plaid Adder]

3. Well, the problem with #1

is that allowing the "financial sector" to collapse would wipe out not only everyone's retirement savings and pensions, but also their savings. It's not just the Wall Street firms that are going under. The banks are going with them. The FDIC will insure deposits up to $100,000, supposedly...assuming it has the money. Which at this point, I doubt--especially if all the banks fail at once.

But, from the rest of your plan it seems like you're more or less taking a come-the-revolution-then-start-from-scratch approach, so perhaps it's all part of the package. I personally think it'd be better if everyone in America didn't wake up one morning and discover that they have no money at all anywhere, whcih is where we seem to be heading.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

[regnaD kciN]

5. Yeah..."blow it up and start over"...

...works fine if you're a twentysomething with your whole life ahead of you. When you're in middle age, and looking at retirement in fifteen years or so, it's not so easy to say "throw away your savings, 401k, pension, etc., and start over from scratch."

In fact, it's damn near idiotic.

[ruggerson]

6. Idiotic

is an understatement.

[PATRICK]

4. Great ideas and much

better than Sen. Reid getting all panicky and impotent on TV telling everyone no one what to do. Blowing that moment epitomizes what is wrong with a certain wing of this party: totally inept political concepts and total thrall to corporate cover games.