The Economy
- How do we fix our economy?
It will take fiscal responsibility and improved worldwide business competitiveness. First, we need to live within our means. We must balance our budget. Failure to do so will increase the debt burden we already face. It will drive inflation up and reduce our standard of living. Second, we need to regain our place as a worldwide leader in business and the technologies and innovations that drive it. This can only be achieved by improving the level of education we offer our children and providing the business community with a friendly place to locate.
- What do you suggest as an immediate stimulus to help get our economy back on track?
I support a government action to help give our economy a spur, but I am concerned that the tax rebate is not an effective measure. We will all enjoy getting a check in the mail that will help make ends meet, but I believe this money will either put into savings because we remain concerned about the future, or it will be used to pay off debts, or spent on goods that were produced overseas. None of these actions will help to spur our economy and we will find that we have just added another $150 billion to our national debt. I would far rather see programs that are aimed at immediately creating new American jobs. Specifically, I would create massive incentives for the private sector to build and install wind turbines and solar energy systems using American made products. This employs people, it will help to reduce our soaring energy costs and it will help to make the planet a greener place.
We should remember that it has been years of budget deficits and lack of intelligent government spending that got us to this weakened state of our economy. The real fixes will not occur over several months, but they can occur over several years.
- Is the federal government spending our money in a prudent and responsible manner?
It seems to me there is a lot of room for improvement. Consider two of our federal government agencies: The Department of Energy, with which I have had some interactions as a businessman has a budget of nearly $24 billion a year and the Department of Labor's budget is twice that at $50 billion a year. Combined, they employ tens of thousands of people. Are we receiving services commensurate with this investment? I do not believe so. We can not continue to simply approve budgets based on what departments have received in prior years. We must build budgets from the ground up and constantly ask: is this function important and is there a better way of doing it? As an example, the grants given out by the Department of Energy are an inefficient way for the country to support and develop certain technologies. By the time applicants fill out all the required forms and reports and due diligence is completed by the department it may be 18 months - too long for start-up organizations. It is also too expensive a process, of the monies approved by Congress for grants, only a fraction is reaching the end customer. Instead there should be a simple system of tax credits which can immediately provide an incentive and a reward for a company of any size to undertake research activities that are believed to be in the best interest of the country. Also, since companies would be spending their own money on these efforts as well, it is unlikely we would be chasing an idea with little or no commercial value.
- *What changes would you like to see in how the federal government's finances are presented?* No public corporation could get away with the type of reporting that takes
place at the federal government. As taxpayers and citizens we deserve an easy-to-read and comprehend financial statement and budget every year. An annual report should summarize
where the tax dollars came from, what they were spent on, and the benefits we derived from that spending. We owe this to the American people.
- *What is driving our economy into a recession?* The rising price of oil, our increasing national debt, and the to failure provide our children with a class "A" education all factors which set the stage, but I can assure you that the chief thing which has set the stock market in it recent decline is the massive fraud that has been committed in the packaging of billions if not trillions in structured investment vehicles that encouraged the wholesale and irresponsible extension of credit, particularly in housing.
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