More Action Items for John Q. Public
From The Burning Platform:
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...It is now time for all Americans to force fiscal sanity upon our government through the use of civil disobedience. Our current fiscal path is unsustainable. The government’s solutions will extend the pain for decades in the best case or result in an abrupt collapse in the worst case. If Americans force a fiscal restructuring upon the world it will be extremely painful, but would result in a more balanced sustainable society going forward. In both cases, Americans will need to accept a reduction in their standard of living. This is the price that must be paid for thirty years of living above our means. Some passive resistance ideas regarding the fiscal sanity movement could be:
* Imagine that Americans refused to spend any money on discretionary items like electronic gadgets, furniture, and jewelry. With 70% of GDP dependent on consumer spending, this would result in the closing of thousands of unnecessary retail stores. We know that a sustainable level of spending is 62% of GDP, so let’s get there in two years rather than dragging it out over a decade.
* Imagine that Americans decided to withdraw every dime of their money from all the banks that have accepted TARP funds. There are 8,500 banks in the United States. Seventy banks have accepted TARP funds. Pull your money out of these banks and put it in your local banks or credit unions that didn’t bring down the financial system. This would ruin the Treasury’s latest $1 trillion scheme of hiding toxic assets.
* Imagine that Americans stopped using credit cards. The major purveyors of credit cards, Bank of America, Citicorp, American Express and Capital One would collapse under the weight of bad debt. Credit cards are a ponzi scheme dependent upon new credit issuance. Without charging 21% interest and collecting $25 late fees for being one day late, their businesses will implode.
* Imagine that every working American walked into work tomorrow and changed their W-4 to 20 exemptions. This would immediately remove $1.2 trillion of taxes from the grasp of politicians in Washington. You could bet that would get the attention of the political hacks in Washington...
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Go and read the rest.
Then act.
Audentes fortunat iuvat.
posted by Concerned American | 3:11 AM
2 Comments:
with the excerpt, some agreement, some disagreement.
Americans will need to accept a reduction in their standard of living.
not at all true! if we were to all do something that reduced government, the economy would boom in a matter of months. we are already living underneath an oppressed living standard. even the people at the top take a hit just so they can remain at the top. that is the mechanism of privi legem, of anti-trust.
temporarily, we would have to suffer a correct with many job losses and much credit destruction. sound familiar? it's trying to happen all on its own! right now! the fed is desperately fighting the market.
This is the price that must be paid for thirty years of living above our means.
ninety five years. the federal reserve act passed in december 1913.
Imagine that Americans refused to spend any money on discretionary items like electronic gadgets, furniture, and jewelry.
well, electronics makers, furniture makers, jewelers would have a harder time building up the savings they need -- other consumers would. i don't think this particular paragraph is fully thought through. nonetheless it is certainly a Good Idea to build up savings.
the best kind would be the kind that isn't dollar-denominated -- gold -- but you should have a little diversity in your portfolio.
Imagine that Americans decided to withdraw every dime of their money from all the banks that have accepted TARP funds.
actually shopping around for banking services would be smart. we do it for haircuts, why don't we do it for our banks? peter schiff has been raising this point a lot lately. he's right. if the banks won't listen to demand and step away from the TARP, and if the "law" won't let us start our own banks, then what we will get is black-market banking.
Imagine that Americans stopped using credit cards.
they're kind of superfluous. if you use them responsibly you might as well have paid in cash, each time. what you build up is a discover-sanctioned reputation, or a visa-sanctioned reputation, with big lenders. does the average american really need that? yet, they can have it if they want it -- otherwise the market is not free.
but, current users would still have to pay out what they already owe, plus interest. for lenders to collapse under debt, these obligations would have to be defaulted on. not necessarily a lack of new assets coming on the balance sheet so much as current assets evaporating.
to some degree, this is probably happening now, and will probably continue to. i don't know to what degree it will put a dent in the vendors, but you can actually call them up and ask and you'll be warmly received and get a relatively honest answer (because they're not government).
Imagine that every working American walked into work tomorrow and changed their W-4 to 20 exemptions.
now THIS is solid. and what's better, IT IS HAPPENING NOW.
the american w-4 party
takeyourmoneyback.com
join us!
This is a great website. I completely agree and have eliminated all debt, and have but one credit card left to cut up.
Yep, twenty exemptions you say.
Well, Ok then.
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