The Economic Patriot Act

There's a Great Emergency!! We Must Act Immediately!! Quick, sign this bill into law granting unprecedented, unsupervised, and possibly unconstitutional, powers to the executive branch! Don't read it, just sign! Sign Now!

Haven't we seen this movie before?

For most people, getting hoodwinked like this once is a learning experience. For Congress? Not so much. They're about to fall for this yet again, and we'll watch our life savings, as we watched our freedoms, melt away.

Now, I realize that things are seriously screwed up on Wall Street. And it is imperative that our government do what is necessary to keep the U.S. economy afloat and society intact. But is this the only solution? I don't think so. Is it the best? Only if you subscribe to the antiquated notion that if you take care of American business then it will take care of American society. But these aren't 'American' businesses - they are transnationals who happen to be based here. They aren't about American workers, they are about profit.

So, what are the alternatives? How about...

• Banks issue equity (stocks) that the Fed buys. The banks then have a better balance between cash and debt and are more willing to loan money again. Thus addressing the problem that credit is currently frozen in the markets.
• The US takes that $1 trillion dollars that is currently up for grabs in Paulson's Cash-For-Trash giveaway, and uses it to purchase 1/2 interest in any home that is owner-occupied and in foreclosure. The owner's mortgage is immediately cut in half, so they can make their payments. If and when the house is sold, the US receives it's half of the proceeds, potentially breaking even over the long haul. This puts the brakes on the number of foreclosures and allows property values to stabilize. Thus addressing the housing-bubble implosion.

These are two of the ideas I've seen floated around, and they both seem safer for the US taxpayer than "Patriot Act II: Show Me The Money".