...and yet more corporate welfare on the way

First, the airline industry in 2001/2002... next FNMA and Freddie... then the automakers are asking for handouts.... now it's Citigroup.

I did enough criticizing of FNMA and Freddie and by now you all know that I think these two corrupt organizations should be dismantled but I never discussed my feelings about the automakers and, now, Citigroup.

It's no secret that I believe that bailing out industry doesn't help anyone and is a bad use of tax dollars. Osama Bin Kanjo is authorizing the use of billions of dollars of your money to bail out companies that don't need the money to solve their problems. What these companies need to do is find better CEOs and put in better business practices.

If US automakers - the big 3 -really wanted to keep jobs in Detroit and other parts of the country then they should focus on making better cars. The reason why the big 3 have been losing ground, aside from the unions, is the fact that they refuse to make enough of the cars that the people want. In today's economy, people want affordability, durability, and great gas mileage. The US automakers are simply not delivering.

...and now for Citigroup. Osama Bin Kanjo wants to export our tax dollars to NYC to bailout another company that preys on people with little or no credit.

Corporate welfare needs to stop. What are these companies learning by getting a handout? Is it really Ok to hire substandard managers and hold a low level of ethics, force your stock price to go down, do nothing and wait for the government to give you a check because you feel you're entitled to it? I don't think so.

If the federal government really cared about boosting the economy, they would create initiatives for small businesses (you know, the ones that hire 80% of the people in this country). I'm not saying that small businesses should get a free handout, but rather offer low interest loans that are guaranteed and structured similar to student loans (offer defferment in the event of hardship, collectability through future refunds in the even of default, etc.).

Maybe the government should invest in programs like Main Street America that would create economic development grants and loans for areas where Main Street is crumbling. We have many here in NEPA, such as downtown Nanticoke, Exeter, Edwardsville, etc., where a revival in Main Street could produce some good. In many of these areas, the businesses are closing, and the local residents - especially the elderly - are forced to go elsewhere for their shopping needs. Without commerce, these towns are losing valuable tax revenue which forces an economic downward spiral. The tax revenue created by stimulating small business growth and employment (and offering our elderly an alternative to driving to Wilkes-Barre) would be justified by exceeding the initial investment in these businesses over the long run.

The solution to the economy is not to give out welfare checks to big corporations. It's also not to punish the little guy like Joe the Plumber by raising his taxes and taking away his ability to support his family. The solution is the exact opposite of the Obama and Bush propose.

When I ran for office, I said that the economy was going to collapse because of failed leadership in the White House, Senate and Congress. I said that the policies established under the current administration and Clinton's are dangerous for the economic stability of this nation. I predicted that our economy was going to choke and that we were going to see economic times in this great nation of ours that we haven't seen in 80 years. Unfortunately, nobody listened and the GOP's lack of leadership dismissed my common-sense ideas. Maybe now these morons can see that I was right after all. Like Rush Limbaugh always says... See, I told you so!

Let's revisit my proposal to boost the economy, introduced October, 2007:

• Stop corporate welfare and reserve a portion of the money that would have gone to big companies to the smaller businesses that employ over 80% of the American workforce through a new loan program as described above.
  
• Offer of long-term tax incentives for businesses expanding and/or relocating operations to areas such as NEPA
• Invest in Main Street America
• Extend small business tax relief deadlines
• Eliminate the self-employment tax for businesses in operation less than five years
• Eliminate the capital gains tax
• Eliminate the Alternative Minimum tax
  
• Adjust the Internal Revenue Code to include an exemption to the penalty for early withdrawal of retirement savings for people who use that money to start a small business.
  

If you notice, our esteemed idiots on Capitol Hill are doing the exact opposite, and our economy is going down the crapper.