MY ALTERNATE BAILOUT PLAN

STOP! THINK, LISTEN TO THE PUBLIC

Here are my thoughts that I am sending to my Maine representatives. Their should be no rush when a full public airing has not been done for the huge structural changes to the financial, fiscal, monetary and executive brnach of government that does NOT support the balance of powers amongst the three branches of government in accordance with our Contsitution.

A Two phase Plan: One for action now and one for a thoughtful public airing of a long term solutions ending in a voter referendum required to enter the bill into law. Paulsen plan is throwing out too much structure, further concentrating extraordinary power in the executive branch, and perpetuating the “power without consequences” that got us to this point of collapse.

Key Elements:
Not this:
• Treasury printing new treasury bonds to pay for $ 700 billion plus money to buy junk collateralized securities that do not have an market value. Why: because this borrowing will push every private enterprise effort for financing out of the market, force interest rates up, inflation up and consumer spending down.
• Throw out current financial structures and regulatory framework; Why: because the problem is not with the financial structures, it is with the lack of oversight with existing regulations.
• Special preference for powers granted to the two remaining investment banks: Goldman Sach and Morgan Stanley; WHY: this just perpetuates the special boy network of secrecy that got us where we are.
• Limitless powers for Paulson. Why: Because power without consequence shows to produce results NOT in the Public interest and fosters secrecy which is exactly why this disaster is resulting. We must have consequences for execs and transparency of process for the Public interest.

Yes this:
• Allow failure. It is part of the free market system and should be; otherwise, we are extending the period of pain, continuing the aura of secrecy, providing no consequences to those who lead us down this road, and spreading the economic upheaval to the broader economy and Main St.
• Re-activate and fund existing regulations and oversight with transparency to the Public. Lack of enforcement and oversight with existing laws and regulatory structures is a large part of the problem. Do not throw out the system when the people are primarily responsible.
• All aspects of the structural changes, regulatory changes and new responsibilities for leaders must have consequences for those in charge and be entirely transparent to the Public. Oversight must be re-activated.

• Alerts to the Public: Democracy is at a precipice: Police state tactics are underway and it is not an accident. Authorities are well aware that public unrest is the one thing they must control in order to stay in control.
• News: Brutal police action at the Republican Convention
• News: A big Mistake: Letting the Foxes run the Chicken Coup, and be our experts on how to fix the problems: Both parties had private parties at the convention put on by unnamed corporate lobby interests where the public and press would not be allowed to enter. Our democratic standards in the constitution have been corrupted by corporate interests. For example, the military industrial complex, the congressional, monetary, fiscal and executive branch leaders are using the revolving door to maintain their corp power and personal interests by working for all these organizations over time.
• News: An active unit of the Army is now being reassigned to work in the US for what purpose? To train in crowd control.? What is this for? Answer: I expect that when the public acts together in protest in the street, these troops will be used to suppress freedom of speech and threaten active citizens who are exercising their rights under our constitution. Active citizen protest is not synonomous with terrorism. More info... http://www.democracynow.org/2008/9/22/headlines#10 http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/3-19-4/chap8.htm

Phase I for action now but No rush jobs for such massive structural changes. We need clarification of the role of government that is consistent with our constitution and separation of power amongst three branches of government. A power balance that is already heavily and dangerously weighted towards the Executive Branch will be further weighted to the Executive branch by the Paulsen Bailout. This must not stand!

• Boost public and market confidence in managing major changes in financial market. Five year timeline to be established now. Part of this must be policy actions by the FED and Treasury to support a resurgence of the Dollar. The market forces are working just fine for this. We have plenty of qualified experts on how to do this. This must be done transparently and over a pre-announced time schedule so the world market knows it is predictable.
• Tranparency is the key to settling the World Market and consumer confidence for an effort that must include input from a broad range of people who give contemplative consideration that will foster a long term workable solution.
• The Govt Buys Nothing on the Taxpayers nickel! If we do then you can kiss renewable energy future goodbye and say hello to a guaranteed economic collapse that will make 1930 look easy. That is my prediction.
• Appropriate Govt leadership role and assistance: is to be only in the form of loans to support guided efforts (by regulatory agencies) for the existing private financial institutions to manage off balance sheet assets and bring them onto the balance sheet now with new and transparent accounting rules that take effect over time.
• Accounting Rules Changes: Create uniform method of valuating off balance sheet securitized assets: via advisory group of Treasury, congress and CPA association. Make effective ASAP with required interim financial statements for all financial institutions.
• Govt support orderly change in accounting and market mechanisms that take effect over a five year period.
• Jobs and Education Incentives: Encourage econ activity and jobs growth by spending on long-term incentives for consumers and industry towards energy savings in the form of: housing, transportation, CO2 reductions. Put the incentives in the hands of middle class consumers and broad range of renewable energy startups. Not just the old style major corporations. Small businesses create more jobs now. Startup an energy job corp. for renewable energy via training and campus innovation incentives. Pay for organizing industry / Educational system collaborative efforts to improve our educational and job training system for the low energy consumption economy of the future.
• Securitized Assets and Amortization: These institutions will have 5 years transition to amortize these assets down to their real market value; however, they must show all this in their financial statements now.
• Based on above we will have a reliable basis to re-establish necessary bank reserve requirements. This is where it is appropriate for the Treasury to supply loans to meet these reserves.


Phase II: Public airing and referendum of long term solution: To be implemented by June 30, 2009. After full and proper public transparency and public discussion with thoughtful input from our best economic advisors and public input. This will affect the next 2, 3, 4 generations and deserves a full and contemplative public review and popular referendum national vote to pass.
Considerations:
• Balance of power amongst the three branches of govt. You can’t fix the problem by giving Paulsen vast powers without any consequences to his actions. This is a repeat of what we are doing for the execs on Wall Street. How stupid can we get? Besides this idea in itself is a very bad idea!
• What is wrong with the original structure of fiscal and money policy institutions if it is followed and regulations are in place and actively enforced?
1. Federal Reserve
2. US Treasury
3. Congressional Oversight, Banking Committee
4. SEC

The problem is not with the system structure but with the people that have corrupted it outside of the Public eye for their own benefit, the intentional blind eye shown by the regulatory authorities, congress and the executive branch which has all been twisted and magnified by the illusions of Democracy in the face of our system being run under the influence of political lobbyist pressure groups, and a revolving door for jobs between the executive, congressional, lobbyists and private corporate executive recruitments. It is all run behind the scene by the same group of players. They do NOT have the Publics interest in mind. The Public is lulled to sleep by lies of comfort and promises that the govt will protect them from an increasingly dangerous world. Big daddy will take care of us. The middle class is running so hard to keep up now that they don’t have the time to object or protest or complain. It is survival in the trenches. We MUST have a trustworthy govt operation under these conditions for the middle class to once again get this economy going.

Contact:
Norton West
Low Energy Efficiency Design of Maine
73 Harbor Place
South Portland, ME 04106-2857
(207) 239-0200
hfnorton@gmail.com
see my economic blog at http://economic-tracks.blogspot.com