'New Solution' to Financial Bailout

1. I like the above plan very much, and I think others will as well!!

Too bad it'll never come to fruition. If only... one can dream.

More realistically, at a minimum, they could instead socialize health care, so that every American doesn't go without.

WATCH US EXPLODE at 7:32PM on Oct 5th 2008

2. One thing can be assured of, whenever there is an economic threat; minorities will always have the largest obstacles to overcome for several reasons. According to the theory of Thomas Malthus, the English political economist, only the fittest will survive during a crises, whether natural or man made. African- Americans have less power in Government and fewer resources to compete for proposal than the majority, who happen not to be African American. Subsequently African- Americans are more likely to lose their homes, jobs, and benefits.
The "Bailout” seems to benefit will more likely to benefit those who are responsible for the problem. The costs are passed on to the "Least of us." For example, the tax benefits favor the "rich and plenty" and Wall Street.
Another problem with the bailout is that it gives majority of the power to one department and person. It goes against the basic formation of democracy. Secretary of the Treasury will get most of the control over this money, and the government does not have a checks and balance system in place for the bailout, meaning that no one will really be allowed to oversee his decisions or provide any input.

Ansley Brown at 7:47PM on Oct 5th 2008

3. Redefining & Rebuilding Main Street
Words by Sheldon F. Joseph


As many of us were, I was amazed and in awe on October 3rd when the “bailout bill” was signed into law. We were faced with many decisions that came down to the kitchen table that night and the weeks to follow. What just happened and what is going to happen now? The lack of transparency from our elected officials was amazing. Just to recap, we were told that the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) was a mandatory action to save Wall Street and our financial system from collapse. In its original form it was declined by a massive margin in the House of Representatives. It was revamped with many middle class friendly tax breaks and the bill passed in the Senate with the general public in bittersweet response. Then in a stunning move, the bill was amended by the House of Representatives with loads of opportunist friendly tax cuts including breaks for rum producers and film makers. Within hours of being passed it was handed over to the White House and signed into law by the president.

The main question now is how this bill affects the community or Main Street as we are called. It’s all about the small business owner who is also the homeowner and the consumer. As a micro business enterprise and a community leader in Metro Atlanta, I have the opportunity to see how both business and community is being affected. With a year of record losses, in excess of 800,000 jobs, more than 770,000 foreclosures it’s not hard to see the similarities that exist. For almost every job that was lost, there was a home foreclosed upon. For low and middle income areas across the country, these numbers have been devastating. So that we are all clear, more than 90% of small business owners are found in the middle class. Metro Atlanta alone is ripe with over 90,000 small businesses and these business owners hire from within their communities. As small business owners lose their homes and their savings, they are forced to close their doors which have lead to layoffs and the destabilization of the community. It’s an ugly spiral that is occurring all over the U.S. But how much did low income and middle class America truly benefit from Wall Street? Most of us could not afford the services that Wall Street offered particularly the minimum investment requirements of the recently fallen financial giants. We either didn’t make enough money or we didn’t have the same amount of financial knowledge for Wall Street to work for us. In the midst of our elected officials passing this $700,000,000,000.00 bailout burden on to us the taxpayer, we have to work to make sure that Main Street is revitalized and empowered from within.

Main Street has to focus on rebuilding and redefining Main Street. We do this by utilizing the smaller and more stable financial assets of the community. We’ve gotten away from the community banks and credit unions. We’ve forsaken relationship building for national and global convenience. It’s evident, now more than ever those communities and the small business owners that serve them cannot rely on the larger financial institutions to fulfill our financial needs. As much as they try to evoke the spirit of building a relationship, they are still bound to rules and regulations that do not have Main Street in mind. Your neighborhood banks have the capability to work with you on matters of credit and income. Local credit unions are owned by the members and ultimately they don’t post billion dollar losses. Your neighbors are your bankers, doctors, dentists, attorneys, plumbers, electricians, barbers, beauticians, pastors, police officers and firemen. Basic instinct and self preservation would prompt many of us to abandon the businesses and financial institutions that built the community in the first place. But in this age of uncertainty and financial discomfort, it’s best to reconnect with the community and build it up from within. Growing up on Long Island it was amazing for me to travel into the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. In announcing that I’m from Long Island, I was treated like I wasn’t even from NY!! It’s not like there is anything more that intersections and backyards separating those two boroughs from Long Island, they were actually on long Island. But there was such solidarity among residents in Hollis, Bedford Stuyvesant, Fort Greene, Maspeth and Kew Gardens. The communities were and still are for the most part self sustained, with local craftsmen and blue collar workers supplying the needs of the local white collar businesses. The non-chain traditional banks are supported by all generations, service providers are family owned for two and three generations. Teachers and elected officials are products of the local school system that know exactly what is needed to keep the neighborhood moving forward financially. There are very few residents that are “imports”. There is an awesome sense of pride and that is what communities across the country need to run back to.

So what’s the next step? Let’s focus on reinvesting in our communities, our neighborhood financial institutions and small businesses. Let’s work together to keep Main Street thriving regardless of what happens on Wall Street. Let’s move forward in educating all age groups in the areas of fiscal responsibility, mortgage lending, proper banking practices, budgeting, credit management and credit itself. If we all knew how the financial system of our country works, we can work together to make sure that it stays working in the best interest of all American’s, not just the 5% who make up the privileged few. Let’s redefine and rebuild Main Street together.

Sheldon F. Joseph at 10:51PM on Oct 5th 2008

4. Check your math. I think its off by quite a few... well it was when I did it...

Jon at 6:52AM on Oct 6th 2008

5. I like the calculation above. I want that person for president. But honestly that's what should be done. Everything will easily fall back into place. But those people in D.C. are so greedy that they want it all for themselves. All these bailouts and our children going over seas to fight a senseless war, is ridiculous.

And your results are exact. The first thing I would do is purchase my first, FIRST home. (at the age of 32) That would make Realtors etc. happy. Along with everything else that was said. Someone should send this link to "President" Bush. He read scripts very well, he shouldn't have a problem reading this link to guide him on what his next step should be. Yeah, I said it!

Juanita at 6:56AM on Oct 6th 2008

6. I also saw this plan for giving every American over 18 some money, and initially thought it was a good idea. But after further thought realized that it would crash the economy because too many people would just quit working, like teachers, bus drivers, trash men, public servants ect...Why go to work when they have all this money. Then again most sales people would quit, taxi drivers, and probably bank tellers too. So now everybody had all this money, but no where to spend it.

Debbie at 7:02AM on Oct 6th 2008

7. WHY THE AGE OF 18,IT SHOULD BE 21 OR HIGHER,I,M 64 AND HAVE BEEN TO HARD TIMES,I COULD USED THE MONEY,TO ADVANDS MY LIFE,RETIRED,AND TAKE CARE OF MY GREATGRAND CHILDREN,TELL WHAT WOULD AN 18 YEAR OLD DO WITH THE MONEY,MOST OF THEM NEVER HAD A JOB,THEY WILL SPEND LIKE LITTLE KIDS IN A CANDY STORE,THEY WILL BE BROKE LESS THAN TWO YEARS,THEY WILL MAKE THE STREETS WORES THAN THEY ARE NOW THEY WILL NOT GO TO SCHOOL ,BECAUSE THEY HAVE MONEY AND BELIVE THAT THEY DON,T NEED TO GO,FOR WHAT THEY ALREADY HAVE MONEY,HIGER EDUCATION WILL BE INTROUBLE,THEY WILL THINK GO TO SCHOOL FOR WHAT,I HAVE MONEY,THERE PARTYS SO MANY PEOPLE GETTING LOCK UP,THEY WON,T CARE THEY THINK THEY HAVE MONEY AND THAT THEY CAN BUY THERE WAY OUT OF TROUBLE.

VERNON GRAY at 7:38AM on Oct 6th 2008

8. Um... actually, I only just realized that the above math is wrong... very wrong. $700 Billion divided between 200 million people comes out to $3,500 per person, and not $3.5 Million per person!

WATCH US EXPLODE at 8:18AM on Oct 6th 2008

9. HOW IS THIS MONEY GOING TO BE GIVEN TO THE PEOPLE? IN THE FORM OF A REBATE? OR MAYBE ADDED TO A TAX RETURN?

TASHAA at 9:36AM on Oct 6th 2008

10. I would pay off my mortgage,make a difference in a lot of these childrens life that is way less fortunate than the other,and put some away for myself and family

Marcus Pippens at 10:03AM on Oct 6th 2008

11. This is wrong. 700 billion divided by 200 million equals 3,500.00 not 3,500,000.00

Benjamin Craig at 10:14AM on Oct 6th 2008

12. IF YOU THINK IT WILL TRICKLE DOWN TO THE MIDDLE CLASS, WAIT TO CONGRADULATE RONALD REAGON!!
SALVATION IS SEN. OBAMA "08"

Aaron at 10:33AM on Oct 6th 2008

13. The calculations are wrong. Instead of 3.5 million the amount should be $3.5 thousand for each person.

RealDeal0147 at 10:41AM on Oct 6th 2008

14. The results of the calculation is wrong.

It should be $3,500 instead of $3,500,000

Real Deal

Real Deal at 10:46AM on Oct 6th 2008

15. Wrong calculation.

Should be $3,500 per person not $3,500,000

Real Deal at 10:48AM on Oct 6th 2008