A Plan for Saving America

Time to face the Music America.
We are in big trouble and you probably live under a rock if you haven't noticed.
Stock Market roller-coaster rides, Housing collapse, Banks failing, Businesses closing or massive layoffs, surging unemployment to record levels, Credit crunch,The American Automobile crash, Massive Bail outs at tax payer expense.
We are in serious trouble.
And guess what?
The experts are saying, IT IS GOING TO GET WORSE!

I believe unless a massive government program is put in place we are going to see unemployment dip to 20% by 2010. Or higher.
That means 20% of the nation will be unemployed. That is massive. That is complete meltdown of the American way of life.
GM Dies this year and the ripple effect alone would put us there at the 20% mark. Any of the big 3 Die and we are there.

The Government is trying to combat it and I salute the Presidents efforts. But being realistic anything the government is trying right now is way too slow to stop the sliding. The Business world is so dynamic it changes daily. And right now not for the better. And long term doesn't look brighter either. The Government goes through votes and re writes and sends plans to both houses before any help is hashed out. And then it takes Months before it can make any difference. By that time, things have gotten considerably worse. And any effort on the governments part, even though well meant is too late.
It won't be soon that they will be at it again. Pumping more money to combat this and that and it will go into another round of Billions if not Trillions of Tax payer dollars. And again the fighting amongst them will be worse and slow to get to where it needs to be to make any real impact.

The problem with all this bail outs and trying to save these businesses is your just giving them money to survive for right now. If the American people are not the ones supporting the system then all your doing is prolonging the agony.
And at what expense?
This whole thing is different from any other financial crises this nation has faced and it is going to take thinking outside the Box to turn it around.

I have written a common sense plan of a government program that should be implemented and would turn this whole thing around. Not in a year, Not in two years, But months. This Year. And not Billions of dollars or Trillions of dollars in Tax payer money. It would cost in the hundreds of millions to start.
But the program would be self sufficient after start up and no business or bank would need a bail out after it. And that is a good thing. And the start on the road to recovery for America.

To understand my plan and the Program I am suggesting, you need to understand, Target Market and Control.
My whole plan is based on targeting the markets that need the help and the control of money to these markets using the American people as it's source like it should be.

But how can this be done? And to have it be controlled and reach the target markets it needs to hit all at the same time?

And that is the trick.

First you need to know the Target Markets. If you are going to write a plan you need to know the markets it is going to effect the most and who needs it the most and why.

In this case, The Target Markets are...

1) The Banking Industry - The banks are at a stand still. After the housing collapse they need Billions of dollars in Bail outs just to survive. They got the Money and nothing has happened. Why?, You may ask. Because it was the main staple of how banks operated in the U.S.
They made Home loans and they packaged them loans and sold them off to investors for Cash.
That Cash was used in making other everyday loans to Businesses needing to make payroll or buy Materials.
And Personal loans, like Autos and Vacations. Everything was very circular in how cash flowed.
When the housing market collapsed these Packaged Investments to bigger Banks and Insurance Companies became worthless. You have 100+ year old Giants like Lehman brothers go under. AIG needing to be bailed out. Insurers of the loans like Fanny Mae and Freddy mac devastated.
Now who is going to buy these Packaged investments? Banks are still hanging on to them. They are on the books still. So who is going to buy them?
No One.
Would you?
There is value in these package investments but no one can seem to put a number on their worth. One reason why the government has not bought them like they explored earlier. It is impossible to determine what they are worth. Pay too much and ooops. And pay too little ooops the other way.
So they sit collecting dust and the cycle is broken.
The Banks no longer have the Vehicle that produced them money to operate on a daily biases..
No loans were being made after the bail out and no loans are being made now, because of it.
The Banks need a new Vehicle, something fresh, that would be massive enough to not only replace the housing loss, but make up for it. Something that in size would be very large but at smaller more controllable amounts.
The Plan I written does just that. And Banks would fall over themselves to do it.

2) The Insurance Industry- The Insurance Industry has taken a huge hit. You don't here about it as much as Banks and other industry but believe me it could be next to collapse. And no one would have knew.
With housing foreclosures, Natural disasters, job loss, auto sales in the toilet, bad investments, the economy, Money is just not coming in. The insurance Industry can only hang on for so long and if this continues to spiral downward. Then it will be a train wreck.
My plan helps the insurance industry which is very comparable to how the banks operate as a whole.

3) The Big 3 Auto industry- The birth place of the auto industry was here in America. Some may say, No it wasn't; but the first automobile line for mass production was with Henry Ford And to me that means the auto industry was America's and no one Else's. The Auto industry directly effects so many other industries that it's collapse is devastating. From Tech jobs to steel mills to scrap yards to plastics to oil and everything you could think of is directly tied to the Auto industry. Millions upon Millions of blue collar jobs and white collar jobs rely on the Auto industry.If America had a heart the auto industry would be it and it is in cardiac arrest right now. The Auto industry can't sell vehicles because of the economy problems and the banks. With out some serious help, and just one of these companies goes under at this time, America is crippled. If 2 go under we are dead. The American Auto industry needs to survive and move forward for this country's overall health. The American auto industry is the mother of invention and technology. With out that staple we as a nation are lost. New technology is spurred around the industry. I can not stress enough how important it is. If Mexico had invented the Auto industry first we would be sneaking over the boarders into Mexico right now and they would be erecting fences. That is how much of a roll the American Auto industry has played on forming this nation.
My Plan not only saves the American Auto industry but makes it the strongest industry in the world.
After the Bombing of Japan in world war 2, that country was devastated economically. It took American ideals to turn that country around and is a major player today. Why? The Auto industry. Japan's quick recovery is because of the Auto industry and western influence. The American Auto industry is key to our turn around and is key to my plan.

4) Wall Street - Wall Street is taking a bashing daily. Consumer confidence is at an all time low. Every time we turn around another person is in trouble from fraud or a scheme to bilk millions from investors. Besides needing a refresher course in ethics Wall Street needs to restore consumer confidence. Investors need to return. Wall Street has an image problem right now and no one is addressing this. That is an internal thing that Wall Street needs to police themselves on and for every-ones greater good. My plan will bring back investors but Wall Street and CEO's need to clean up their act.

You have seen the target markets and now maybe somewhat understand what is going on.

So now to the big fix.

My Plan.-

The American Government is very powerful and can be used as a tool to make changes in our life that would be for the greater good of everyone.
But the Government doesn't have a crystal ball. It needs our input to make changes. It can make programs that help us all when needed. And right now it is needed.

Even freedom needs a hand to survive from time to time and this is one of those times.

My plan would have the Government implement a Vehicle Buying program for it's Citizens. Backed and Guaranteed by the government. It would be named the, Government Guaranteed Auto Loan Program. GALP for short.

That is my plan in a nut shell.

How this works and why it will work.

The Government -
The President would order each Governor of Each State to compile a list from their states department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) of CURRENT REGISTERED vehicles that are 10 years or older.
This compiled list would be sent to the Federal Department of Transportation which would over see the program.
The Dept. of Transportation would then send out letters to the owners of these vehicles informing them of the new program and directions on how to be in the program.
The program would give a guarantee loan of up to $25,000 dollars towards the purchase of a new or newer used American made Vehicle.
Much like a Guaranteed College student loan is done today.

Rules-
1) One vehicle per person is allowed.
2) You must own a vehicle that is 10 years or older and has to be your primary mode of transportation and been registered for the last calender year.
3) You must surrender the old vehicle for scrap recycling.
4) You must have 1 year of full coverage pre-paid insurance for the vehicle you are purchasing.
5) you agree to carry insurance on the vehicle for the life of the loan.
6) You agree to have the IRS disclose to the lender your yearly income to adjust the loan.
7) You agree that you can not file bankruptcy on this loan.
8) You agree that if you default on the loan the bank can take repossession of the vehicle and sell said vehicle for any amount above $1 to anyone. Costs associated with the repossession will be added to the loan and the sale of the vehicle amount will be deducted from the loan.
9) You agree if you default on said loan that you will pay the Government the remaining balance of the loan plus fees and interest. Be it by Tax interception, wage garnishment, or put to work repairing the roads of the country or any other program the Government sees fit for repayment of the loan.
10) You agree the loan is your sole responsibility and you will be the one paying the loan until such obligation is fulfilled and loan is payed in full.

These rules are all safe guards for the loans. By doing this you have a very low percentage of Defaults on the loans.
I am not saying there won't be defaults because we know there will be, but with proper rules in place you can control that to a very low percentage. Again control is key. The Government can adopt any rules they see fit for this program to happen and not nesseraly adopt mine.
The one year paid up front full coverage insurance is also a safe guard. A person who is willing to save and put down one year full coverage insurance up front is more likely to be responsible and take care of the vehicle. Insurance for full coverage can cost in the thousands of dollars and alone is a major investment for most Americans.
This would also make another swift move in state policy where insurance is not required to drive a vehicle.
In my state of Wisconsin you are not forced to have Auto insurance. This is a policy I like to call "Be careful Mutual" coverage. We all know here in the state that if you get smucked by a driver with the "Be Careful Mutual" plan can be a devastating experience especially if an accident caused bodily harm. This program should make all states require all drivers to insure their vehicles. Making the roads much safer for everyone.

The Nuts and Bolts of the program -

Sliding Scale of means -

The program would use a sliding scale of means to determine the monthly payments for said loan.

Example:
Auto Buyer A makes a living flipping burgers at a fast food restaurant.
Auto buyer A grosses $12,000 in 2008.
After going over costs and expenses Auto buyer A is determined to meet the lowest level on the sliding scale of means.
Auto buyer A's monthly payment is $50.00.

Auto buyer B grossed $75,000 in 2008
After calculating Auto buyer B's costs and expenses, it is determined that Auto buyer B's payment is $250 a month.

Adjustments -
Now say if, Auto Buyer A gets promoted to day manager and is now grossing $25,000 in 2009.
Then Auto buyer A's monthly payment goes up according to the sliding scale of means.
This would be adjusted automatically by the banks when the IRS reports incomes of those on the program to the banks.
The same would hold true for Auto Buyer B. If Auto Buyer B's gross income goes down then so would the monthly payment according to the sliding scale of means.

How is it processed -
All paper work would be done at the dealerships.
Sales staff would be trained on the program and would help the buyer.
They would send the paperwork and copy's to the government and Banks. If help is needed in finding banks and even insurance they could do this also. The dealership could charge a small fee of up to $200 per loan that they prepare or help in getting these loans done.
That is a great incentive for sales staff and dealerships to embrace such a program.

Why this program would work?

Banks-
This would give the banks the new vehicle for making money they desperately need.
The Banks would be able to package and sell these loans to investors with the government Guarantee all ready attached.
These loans being structured the way they are is an immediate help to the Banks.
These loans are small enough ($25,000) and large enough in size (Millions in each state) that would make up for the housing revenue loss.
This would help small banks in every community giving them overall market growth. These Banks would be able to Package and sell these loans to larger Banks who would in turn package and sell them to investors.
Unlike College Student Loans where the loans are held until graduation or leaving school all together before pay back of the loan is required. These loans are paid back starting immediately. In College you take out loans and you don't have to pay them back until one year after graduation and even then you can get extensions if you have not found a job in your field. Student loans can amass into the hundreds of Thousands for one individual over the coarse of their education and their is no guarantee that they will even find a job in their field.
This program would have a ceiling of $25,000 for an individual loan to buy a vehicle backed by the Government. This loan starts repayment right away. Interest on the loans would be set by the banks and that is how they can compete for your business with these loans. A $25,000 dollar guaranteed loan could cost you $30,000 by the time it is paid off depending on the terms of the bank the individual deals with.
This all would give the Banks the money to loan to Business again for Materials and Payroll help. The cycle would start over again and loans would be made in the private sector again for Business start ups and so forth that are considered higher risk ventures.
In a nut shell the Banks would be saved and that is the core of the problem right now.

Jobs- The Ripple effect from such a program would create millions of jobs all over the country in every sector in every scale. Blue collar and White collar jobs would appear over night.
It would be a reverse of the current ripple effect being felt now with job loss.
The jobs created from this program would be long lasting, good paying jobs and not temporary, band aid, short fix jobs being created now.
The program would spur a movement in the Technology sector for years to come as a world that is now trying to grow green has a model program to work with. The program like all Programs will spur imagination and development of new technologies.
jobs from The textile industry, from the plastics industry, from the steel industry, from the scrap industry, from the banking industry, from the insurance industry, from the retail industry, and even eventually the housing industry would be made.
The housing industry is in such a mess there is no real way to save it directly. I am not going to sugar coat it for home buyers hoping for help. It is not going to come right away from this program. But in the long term the program will help to stabilize the housing market and increase the value of the home once again.
All I can say is hang in there.
When people have jobs and feel comfortable that the country is heading in the right direction they buy stuff. They buy that big screen TV they have had their eye on and the G.I. Joe with the Kung Fu grip.
They also buy homes. With jobs comes homes. As factories fire up and business resumes as normal as it can be people move to where these companies are and homes are bought and sold.
This program is massive enough that it would create jobs in every state and spur the economy.

The Big 3 American Auto Industry -
It is obvious that the big 3 would be saved under this program. But the big 3 better start to look inside at it's brass after this. They will need to develop a plan to keep competitive for the years to come with the competition and have hind sight. They better have plans in place for any contingency the market can throw at them. I don't care if it is a economic research team that they put togther or what ever, but they better be able to start looking forward.
The falling in love with the SUV killed them when gas rose to record highs.
They were not prepared.
And that can not happen again.
The program would start out to be for American Big 3 Auto industry, but at some point the government would have to open it up to the foreign market.
Other wise we would end up in a trade war and end up hurting our self's, which would defeat the purpose of the program. The President can reason with other countries that produce vehicles that this program is not only essential for America but for the worlds market stability. Any such trade war would only hurt their country more than it would hurt America in the long run and other countries would be allowed to enter the program eventually.
this bartering back and forth would give the American Auto industry time it needs to get a foot hold and retool and develop new technology. This would put them on solid ground after one year of implementation of the program but it is up to them to go from there and make the right choices and moves.
All this program will do for them is give them the money and time they need. They will have to build a quality product to gain customer loyalty for the long run. it won't be easy for them but it would be impossible for them for what is going on right now and we as a country can't lose the American Auto industry. Maybe even Government oversight comity is in order for the Big 3? But that will be left up to the government and the companies far from what this program would do.
In any case The Big 3 would be saved and jobs created and people back to work.

The Insurance Industry-
The Money from the one year full coverage in advance policies would be a wind fall for the insurance industry. The insurance industry would be able to package and sell these policies to bigger insurance companies and buy packaged investments from the banks. They would be on solid footing and would have the most to gain over the long run of the program. This in turn would help drive the price of insurance down for everyone. at least i hope it would. The program may even change the way insurance industry does business as a whole. Companies that just covered certain things like homes and not auto may jump in the auto market to help off set the losses from the housing crash? I don't know. But I do know that it gives them a new tool to do business and money can be made.
Insurance would be saved.

Wall Street-
just on the news of such a program would have Wall Street going bonkers. They would hit record highs and lows and highs before stabilizing and finding the steady growth they seek for in investments. Wall street is the one thing that can be influenced by the mere word of mouth. just look at the president saying there are good deals out there right now. Just word a mouth made a difference in trading. But to have something as solid as this program that has teeth would send it in a tizzy.
Wall Street is Wall Street and in the end the Program would only be good for Wall Street as Consumer confidence would return. They just need to flush out the bad and crooked element that has been plaguing them of lately.
No one wants to see another madoff or anyone like him again. safe guards need to be in place and they need to constantly reassure the public that they are in place. Maybe in policing themselves the market will now require that each firm carry fraud insurance to protect investors? Or Investors can buy fraud insurance? Either way Wall Street has work to do. But in the long run with this program Wall Street is saved.

The States -
You here everyday how states need bail outs and can't meet budgets to keep state government working. They are taxing you to death and if they haven't just wait because they will. States need to make up money loss somewhere and they will turn to you in one form or another to get it. Be it raising vehicle registration or imposing sin tax on products like cigarettes or Alcohol. They will nickle dime you to death before getting rid of any sand flea study program they have on the books. Or how a Mosquito mates. They like keeping their programs. So you are going to feel it one way or another.
This program helps states and keeps them at bay from coming after you for short falls.
The amount of new vehicle registrations would be massive and give cash strapped States like California a much needed boost in revenue. Budgets saved people happy and states can function as usual. And pray they don't tax you in any other ways, like a Miles driven tax!!! That some states like Massachusetts are doing! Yikes!
For the Last time. Federal Tax Cuts = State shortages of Money for programs = You pay more else where.
And everyone clapped when Bush said he was cutting taxes. When he meant he was cutting funding to your state programs that you will have to pay elsewhere in your state and Cutting tax for the 2% rich in this country. Are you still clapping?
Anyway this program would save states.

Closing -
We don't need to be spending Billions or Trillions of tax payer dollars and driving up huge amounts of debt when we can implement a program like this. The Government is a tool for the people. And the People need to instruct the government on how they want their money spent. It is going to take Ideas and plans like mine to turn this around.
Besides saving everyone with this plan you are also helping the environment as a whole. The move to newer technology vehicles would help start the country to go greener. It is a win win situation for everyone.
The Money goes into the hands it needs to be in. It is controlled to effect the markets that need it. Everyone is back working and the country goes greener. oh yea. and you get a new car. What is not to like about this program?
I know some critics and Bureaucrats might say this plan is socialist. Ok so what is 4 trillion dollars in bail outs? And it doesn't solve anything. That is not socialist. That is robbery. even sometimes Freedom needs a hand.
Besides the program could be short term or made permeate. It all depends. If housing comes back and starts to move again then maybe you can stop the program at that point but for now the banks need something to work with and if anyone has a better idea I would love to here it. But don't come at me with something that has no teeth..
If your trying to make money off every-ones plight I will call you out on it.
Another thing in closing I watched a Saturday night Live spoof last night where the Fed gave 400 billion dollars for a plan to turn this around. Funny stuff.
My question is where can I collect?
it will be you the people of this country that ends up saving us all.
My online name is Rserp1
I am from Wisconsin