How would you fix US Economy?

[esthernrob]

How about shutting down the 700 or so US bases around the world?

America would be booming.

The defence industry can make up the loss of income by selling to those countries that formerly housed US bases as they will obviously need to shore up their America-less defences.

Ain't gonna happen but there's your fix.

what would you do with all the AMERICAN service men and women in those bases?

 

[esthernrob]

legalize weed and tax it. Price it so that drug dealers and importers (mexico) are driven out of business/ have no more incentive to deal.

Mad loot right there.

stoner = stoner = we be all happy

 

[Member243850]

I hope this thread doesn't go downhill.

I hope at least.

 

[esthernrob]

I hope this thread doesn't go downhill.

I hope at least.

you're right, onward and upward...

 

[Evo 5oh]

I just realize we help other countries more then we help ourselves....I think what we did in Lybia was too kiss ass and see if they give us oil and.....they didnt...sucking up to other countries is not working new method???

 

[Sak01]

what would you do with all the AMERICAN service men and women in those bases?

Bring them home and downsize.

 

[Member243850]

I think maybe there are many, and loads of factors that contribute to the bad USA economy today.

For one... I think all of mankind should stop printing fake money that has no concrete or real value and go back to the Gold Standard.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_standard

This will stop "great" governments from getting out of control.

 

[dark4181]

1) Outlaw lobbyists/lobbying
2) Reform copywrite and patent laws to end perpetual idea ownership: 10 years max, then public domain
3) Federal income tax = 10% consumption tax for EVERYONE (sans the disabled) spent according to the constitution: post, roads, national defense. +5% additional tax each year on those that make more than $1M.
4) State income tax = 20% consumption tax for everyone, sans the disabled. +10% additional tax each year on those that make more than $1M. States spend their own collections on in-state projects, no $ sent to Federal gov't
5) Balanced budget amendment: Yearly zero sum base for Fed and state
6) Term limit amendment. No more than 8 years, just like the president. No more career politicians
7) End farm, ethanol and oil subsidies
8) End the war on drugs, release non-violent drug offenders with annotated records
9) Reduce worldwide presence of armed forces
10) Adopt non-interventionalist foreign policy, except for voluntary charity to poor nations
11) Tax breaks/credits for businesses with a small Average Joe: CEO pay divide ratio
or 11b) End min wage in favor of set Average Joe: CEO pay ratio
12) People collecting unemployment/food stamps are put to work/community service
13) Drop corporate tax rate to 20%
14) Drill for oil on land and offshore while exploring alt/green energy, refine oil in country, no shipping it out
15) Enact frivolous lawsuit legislation, such as some EU nations have; ie- panels determine if a lawsuit is frivolous before it is filed, frivolous lawyers disbarred
16) End the Federal Reserve, no more vaporcash
17) End Sallie Mae and Freddie Mac, defer to the states
18) Secure the boarder, no amnesty, streamline immigration process
19) Re-reform health care. EU-style + private for those that wish it, no limits on HSA contibutions.
20) 2 years mandatory armed service for all (like Switzerland) = college paid for up to $XX,XXX
21) Unify welfare and medicare, defer control to the states. 10% tax on citizens making more than $1,000,000 to fund
22) Decentralize the Department of Education, one per state. competition between states. Treat homeschooling the same as public and private schooling.
23) Transition Social Security into 401k-type plans. No limits on regular 401k contributions
24) Build new nuclear power plants, but only to worse case scenario specifications, and no plants in earthquake prone areas.
25) Step up environmental efforts, tax breaks/credits for green companies, no more landfills, launch trash into the sun
26) Declare broadband internet and cellular service to be utilities, unify infrastructure

I'm sure there could be more, but this is what came to mind

 

[Vihzel]

#20... not for me!

 

[dark4181]

#20... not for me!

Couple it with 9 & 10 and it's not so bad. With that it becomes learning discipline, skills, having a guaranteed paycheck right after highschool, and getting college paid for; rather than going off to die abroad.

 

[cipher6]

Change immigration policy, instead of favoring families, favor the educated and talented.

If you've got a phD, front of the line.

flat consumption tax, you only get taxed if you spend, encouraging people to save more.

 

[ElasticNinja]

[quote="

 

[primer693]

I would say control the population first. Population means jobs required which leads to low unemployment rate.

viagra

 

[ElasticNinja]

I would say control the population first. Population means jobs required which leads to low unemployment rate.

Is the population not sufficiently controlled as is?
Would be better to focus on reducing the amount of resources people use.
If you want to reduce unemployment, reduce the amount of hours people work.

 

[OutofDate1980]

I don't think anyone knows how to "fix" the economy.

Yeah, once we *think* its fixed, it breaks again.

 

[A.Nonymous]

Is the population not sufficiently controlled as is?
Would be better to focus on reducing the amount of resources people use.
If you want to reduce unemployment, reduce the amount of hours people work.

A lot of people would be ticked if you cut down on the number of hours they worked. America is a country of workaholics. Especially compared to Europeans.

 

[OutofDate1980]

A lot of people would be ticked if you cut down on the number of hours they worked. America is a country of workaholics. Especially compared to Europeans.

The only people who would be ticked off if the hours worked were cut down for employees would be the owners.

Most employees are Exempt, thus no overtime pay. If you want to see unemployment drop, restrict the definition of Exempt employees and require overtime pay.

America is a country of cowered workers, always fearful of losing their jobs.

 

[A.Nonymous]

The only people who would be ticked off if the hours worked were cut down for employees would be the owners.

Most employees are Exempt, thus no overtime pay. If you want to see unemployment drop, restrict the definition of Exempt employees and require overtime pay.

America is a country of cowered workers, always fearful of losing their jobs.

I question your numbers about most employees being exempt, but I honestly don't have any stats to back up my position. Anecdotally I don't think that's true though. Almost everyone I know is hourly and gets overtime. I have a few friends who do sales type jobs and work on commission and a few who are salary (as I am), but the vast majority of my friends are hourly. I confess I can't find any any stats one way or the other though. I may not be looking in the right place.

I know people who double their salaries by working overtime. There was quite the uproar a few months ago when it was revealed that some detention deputies were making $70-80k a year when their base, hourly pay was around $30-35k. They made the additional money in overtime pay. If you waved a magic wand and eliminated all of that overtime you'd cut their pay in half and have some very angry people on your hands.

The fact is we here in the US work way more hours than Europeans do. You can claim that's because we have to, but we also take less vacation than Europeans do and American workers routinely leave vacation hours on the table. I had 160+ hours of vacation that I lost at one job I left and had a little over 100 hours I lost when I left my last job.

Interestingly enough Huffpo chalks this up to higher taxes in Europe that keep people from bothering to work more and better unemployment benefits discouraging people from looking for work.

Low Tax Rates And High Divorce Rates Help Explain Why Americans Work More Than Europeans: Report

There's also a nice article from Forbes that breaks this all down. One of the things that is interesting is that it European unions traditionally fight for less hours while American unions fight for higher wages.

Why Europeans Work Less Than Americans - Forbes.com

It is interesting that even though European works are more productive per hours the average American worker produces more in a year than the average Frenchman.

 

[OutofDate1980]

If you read your post, you are supporting my position. If one is given higher wages, progressive taxation, pay for hours worked and unions to negotiate same then employers would be forced to hire more workers. I probably did overstate numbers of exempt employees, as income needs to be above $23,660 to be classified as exempt, but haven't found hard numbers. Then again, lawsuits have increased.

More American workers sue employers for overtime pay

Workers' main grievance is that they had to put in more than 40 hours a week without overtime pay through various practices:

 

[A.Nonymous]

Just speaking anecdotally, I don't think most Americans want less hours and more vacation time though. I don't have the numbers and stats to back that up, but that's just what I get from people I know. Certainly unions here have historically fought for higher wages, not less hours. I know quite a few people who would love to get paid more. If you gave them a choice though between say a 35 hour week and an extra $5k a year, they'd take the $5k a year. I'm not convinced that Americans want to work less. They want to be compensated for the work they do, but not necessarily work less.

 

[ElasticNinja]

A lot of people would be ticked if you cut down on the number of hours they worked. America is a country of workaholics. Especially compared to Europeans.

I'm sure they would be upset to see a drop in their wages, but they need time to live, too.

I question your numbers about most employees being exempt, but I honestly don't have any stats to back up my position. Anecdotally I don't think that's true though. Almost everyone I know is hourly and gets overtime. I have a few friends who do sales type jobs and work on commission and a few who are salary (as I am), but the vast majority of my friends are hourly. I confess I can't find any any stats one way or the other though. I may not be looking in the right place.

I know people who double their salaries by working overtime. There was quite the uproar a few months ago when it was revealed that some detention deputies were making $70-80k a year when their base, hourly pay was around $30-35k. They made the additional money in overtime pay. If you waved a magic wand and eliminated all of that overtime you'd cut their pay in half and have some very angry people on your hands.

The fact is we here in the US work way more hours than Europeans do. You can claim that's because we have to, but we also take less vacation than Europeans do and American workers routinely leave vacation hours on the table. I had 160+ hours of vacation that I lost at one job I left and had a little over 100 hours I lost when I left my last job.

Not taking your time off is a really awful attitude though. Wishing to avoid disruption to your company is one thing, and admirable, but not taking what you are due?

Interestingly enough Huffpo chalks this up to higher taxes in Europe that keep people from bothering to work more and better unemployment benefits discouraging people from looking for work.

Low Tax Rates And High Divorce Rates Help Explain Why Americans Work More Than Europeans: Report

There's also a nice article from Forbes that breaks this all down. One of the things that is interesting is that it European unions traditionally fight for less hours while American unions fight for higher wages.

Why Europeans Work Less Than Americans - Forbes.com

It is interesting that even though European works are more productive per hours the average American worker produces more in a year than the average Frenchman.

Yeah, shorter hours has always been the big thing, although wage increases above inflation are oft a demand too.

Not sure about the tax or welfare arguments though, welfare rates seem to have little effect on employment, and as for tax, well if you are earning less...
I would say that Europeans probably feel a lot more secure and thus dont feel the need to work as much. That said this idea is at odds with Americans low saving rates.

Just speaking anecdotally, I don't think most Americans want less hours and more vacation time though. I don't have the numbers and stats to back that up, but that's just what I get from people I know. Certainly unions here have historically fought for higher wages, not less hours. I know quite a few people who would love to get paid more. If you gave them a choice though between say a 35 hour week and an extra $5k a year, they'd take the $5k a year. I'm not convinced that Americans want to work less. They want to be compensated for the work they do, but not necessarily work less.

As more and more of the economy becomes automated, and resources become more scare in relative terms, people will have to work less or risk high unemployment and resource scarcity.

 

[A.Nonymous]

I don't think that is the case here in America. I think if you asked people here if they'd rather have $5k more a year or a 35 hour work week people here would choose the money. I think Europeans would take the time. I remember visiting London and being shocked by how many businesses actually close at 5.

 

[ElasticNinja]

I don't think that is the case here in America. I think if you asked people here if they'd rather have $5k more a year or a 35 hour work week people here would choose the money. I think Europeans would take the time. I remember visiting London and being shocked by how many businesses actually close at 5.

And in France, you shall find yourself without shops on a Sunday.
Anyway, I didnt disagree with you, I just said that its not a great way of doing things.

 

[A.Nonymous]

And in France, you shall find yourself without shops on a Sunday.
Anyway, I didnt disagree with you, I just said that its not a great way of doing things.

Yeah, that's just mind boggling to Americans. Chick-fil-a is closed on Sunday here and people don't understand it and think it's weird. White collar stuff is routinely closed on weekends here, but blue collar stuff is open 7 days a week. I have no idea how Europeans get things done with businesses closing at 5. I frequently run errands after work and am out and about 'til 7 or 8. I don't think that's unusual either.

 

[ElasticNinja]

Yeah, that's just mind boggling to Americans. Chick-fil-a is closed on Sunday here and people don't understand it and think it's weird. White collar stuff is routinely closed on weekends here, but blue collar stuff is open 7 days a week. I have no idea how Europeans get things done with businesses closing at 5. I frequently run errands after work and am out and about 'til 7 or 8. I don't think that's unusual either.

Well if you're used to it I guess its normal. Where I live shops tend to be open 7 days a week and from morning till late in the evening.