What the Government Needs to do to Improve the Economy: A Citizen’s Perspective

Posted by admin on February 12, 2009

I believe Americans got it right when they voted for Obama. He’s smart, and appears to have genuine compassion for the average American citizen. However, as of yet I don’t believe he or anyone else in the government has come up with a real, viable solution for fixing the American economy. Instead of trying to improve the financial situation for the little guy, he passes stimulus packages that help bail out big corporations. This has already been done by Bush and frankly, it didn’t work. So, why continue down that path again?

In my opinion, the government needs to look at the smaller elements of the equation– how the little guy can manage whatever monies they have right now. And the first step would be to create programs that would get him out of debt. This could include government-controlled debt consolidation programs as well as a repeal of Bush’s bankruptcy laws. You should not have to lose or be forced to sell your home just because you file for bankruptcy.

Next, healthcare needs to be reformed terribly. If they can’t enact universal healthcare, (like everyone else in the world), they need to extend Medicaid to middle-class citizens and/or individuals who cannot get FULL coverage through their jobs. Currently, the only way you can get Medicaid is if you’re dirt poor. And even then there’s a lot of bureaucratic nonsense. Make $1 more than what’s in their guidelines, and you won’t get coverage.

Also, instead of giving new homeowners $15,000, such programs need to go to entrepreneurs who are creating new companies. Why? Well, entrepreneurs are going to create more wealth, especially if they have a solid business plan, (which needs to be a requirement before they get the money). And with the internet, $15,000 will get you a long way. If you are running something online, $15,000 will get you a good website, the services of an seo company to help drive traffic to your website, and the support staff to close the deal and turn those people into customers. A business can be run on this amount of money. Homeowners on the other hand are more likely to either reinvest the money into their mortgage or spend it on cars, furniture and other things that won’t promote long-term economic growth.

Finally, the government needs to rethink the tax stimulus. Sure, it’s nice getting an extra $300, or $1,200 at tax time, but again, this money is only a short-term reward. Wouldn’t it be better if people could keep more of their own money, even if it’s $100 or so extra per paycheck? I think with the American mindset, taking less taxes out to begin with would help the economy because they would have more money over time.