Congress is poised to spend nearly a trillion dollars on top of the $700 billion bailout from last September. While many parts of the pending bill (H.R. 1) will act to stimulate the economy, many parts of it simply won't. Tax rebate checks DO NOT stimulate the economy - history shows that people either spend such rebates on paying off credit card debt or simply saving it, doing nothing to stimulate the economy.
The Wall Street financial institutions, auto manufacturers and countless other irresponsible actors have received BILLIONS of taxpayer dollars to bail them out of their self-created mess. This, too, does nothing to stimulate the economy. It merely rewards bad behavior and does nothing to encourage institutional change. There is a better way.
How many times have we heard from our leaders in Washington that education is the key to solving all of our underlying societal problems? For decades, Presidents, Senators and Members of Congress have touted themselves as champions of education, yet they've done nothing to actually encourage the pursuit of one on an individual level.
Some of us have taken advantage of the Federal Stafford Loan program to finance higher education, presumably with the understanding that an advanced degree equates with higher earning power in the future. Many of us go into public service after attaining such degrees, something that's also repeatedly described as something society should encourage. Yet, the debt we've accrued to obtain such degrees have crippled our ability to reap the benefits of our educations, causing many to make the unfortunate choice of leaving public service so as to earn enough money to pay off that debt.
Our economy is in the tank. There isn't an economist alive who doesn't believe that the economy needs stimulating immediately. The only debate now centers on how to go about doing it. While the current plan pending before Congress contains some worthy provisions, very little of it will have a significant and immediate stimulating effect on the economy. The Obama Administration itself doesn't expect to see a upsurge in the economy until mid-to-late 2010.
Instead of funneling billions of additional dollars to banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and other institutions of greed that are responsible for the current economic crisis, why not send that money directly to the people?
Cancelling student loan debt for people making under $150,000 per year would have an IMMEDIATE stimulating effect on the economy. Responsible people who did nothing other than pursue a higher education would have hundreds, if not thousands of extra dollars per month to spend, fueling the economy NOW. Those extra dollars being pumped into the economy would have a multiplying effect, unlike many of the provisions of the plan presently under consideration. As a result, tax revenues would go up, the credit market will unfreeze and jobs will be created.
2009 and the new Obama Administration is supposed to be about change. Nothing in the present economic stimulus package represents a significant departure from the way Washington has always operated - it's merely a different set of priorities on a higher scale, but it's certainly not materially different from any other economic stimulus package passed during the past few decades.
Washington cannot simply print and borrow money to get us out of this crisis. We The People, however, can get this economy moving NOW. All we need is relief from debt that was accrued under the now-false promise that higher education equates with higher earnings.
Free us of our obligations to repay Federal Stafford Loans and We The People will spend those extra dollars NOW.
If you're on Facebook, there's a new group devoted to this proposal. It can be found at: Login | Facebook
If you believe that there's a better way of climbing out of this economic crisis, one that empowers We The People to directly spend money, start businesses, free up credit and create jobs, then please join this group and encourage others to do so as well.
There's strength in numbers - the more people to join this group, the louder our voices and the greater the chances of being heard by President Obama and Congress.
Support REAL change we can believe in!
The Wall Street financial institutions, auto manufacturers and countless other irresponsible actors have received BILLIONS of taxpayer dollars to bail them out of their self-created mess. This, too, does nothing to stimulate the economy. It merely rewards bad behavior and does nothing to encourage institutional change. There is a better way.
How many times have we heard from our leaders in Washington that education is the key to solving all of our underlying societal problems? For decades, Presidents, Senators and Members of Congress have touted themselves as champions of education, yet they've done nothing to actually encourage the pursuit of one on an individual level.
Some of us have taken advantage of the Federal Stafford Loan program to finance higher education, presumably with the understanding that an advanced degree equates with higher earning power in the future. Many of us go into public service after attaining such degrees, something that's also repeatedly described as something society should encourage. Yet, the debt we've accrued to obtain such degrees have crippled our ability to reap the benefits of our educations, causing many to make the unfortunate choice of leaving public service so as to earn enough money to pay off that debt.
Our economy is in the tank. There isn't an economist alive who doesn't believe that the economy needs stimulating immediately. The only debate now centers on how to go about doing it. While the current plan pending before Congress contains some worthy provisions, very little of it will have a significant and immediate stimulating effect on the economy. The Obama Administration itself doesn't expect to see a upsurge in the economy until mid-to-late 2010.
Instead of funneling billions of additional dollars to banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and other institutions of greed that are responsible for the current economic crisis, why not send that money directly to the people?
Cancelling student loan debt for people making under $150,000 per year would have an IMMEDIATE stimulating effect on the economy. Responsible people who did nothing other than pursue a higher education would have hundreds, if not thousands of extra dollars per month to spend, fueling the economy NOW. Those extra dollars being pumped into the economy would have a multiplying effect, unlike many of the provisions of the plan presently under consideration. As a result, tax revenues would go up, the credit market will unfreeze and jobs will be created.
2009 and the new Obama Administration is supposed to be about change. Nothing in the present economic stimulus package represents a significant departure from the way Washington has always operated - it's merely a different set of priorities on a higher scale, but it's certainly not materially different from any other economic stimulus package passed during the past few decades.
Washington cannot simply print and borrow money to get us out of this crisis. We The People, however, can get this economy moving NOW. All we need is relief from debt that was accrued under the now-false promise that higher education equates with higher earnings.
Free us of our obligations to repay Federal Stafford Loans and We The People will spend those extra dollars NOW.
If you're on Facebook, there's a new group devoted to this proposal. It can be found at: Login | Facebook
If you believe that there's a better way of climbing out of this economic crisis, one that empowers We The People to directly spend money, start businesses, free up credit and create jobs, then please join this group and encourage others to do so as well.
There's strength in numbers - the more people to join this group, the louder our voices and the greater the chances of being heard by President Obama and Congress.
Support REAL change we can believe in!