How to fix the economy crisis

I don't know what the temperature on mars is but maybe migration is the answer.

Hello Mac1946, I realize that it really stinks to have someone rain on your parade. Alas, I'm inclined to do just that because I'm compelled to utter truth -- regardless of how unpopular it can sometimes be. 1. Most, if not every state has legislation on the books, which limits the interest rates that credit companies can charge. My state, NM was one of the last to adopt this particular legislation. Please go to TransUnion, Equifax, or Experian to read the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Or, you can find it below: www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra.htm 2. The recession did not start when "... credit cards were allowed to put their own interest rates on them". Credit companies have not had that power in a very long time. Also, the term "recession" has a set, distinct definition. A recession is defined by a specific number of negative growth quarters. Officially, this recession did not begin until 4th quarter 2008. Though, when did it really start? Technically without the bell curve of American Ingenuity, it started in 1968 when "Lyndon B. Johnson privatized Fannie Mae in order to remove it from the national budget". It was further exaccerbated when Congress mandated that Fannie & Freddie give loans to unqualified recipients, who obviously could not pay back the loans. hnn.us/articles/1849.html Add to that the gov't interference of allowing whole new, politically expedient financial instruments, like Hedge Funds, to pop up without any regulatory oversight, and further empower them to tie USA pension funds to international, risky gambles, as well as detectable investment bubbles (like overinflated real estate prices) and violá, we end up with a ticking timebomb. The aggressive tax cuts of the 1980s, coupled with the tech boom ushered in by the computer age allowed what is really quite fragile -- an economy, to avoid succumbing to the unbearable strain of 'feel good economics'. Though that was only a 'band-aid'. Bottom line, you're right -- greed is behind this mess. Though, it has zero to do with credit card interest rates, or any other facet of the regulated banking industry (And, I am so no fan of banks -- I do all of my banking with credit unions!!!), which is and has been the most heavily regulated industry in the world, beside the nuclear industry. If you really want to know how this mess came about, ask Barnie Frank about his 'pillow talk' with his boyfriend from Fannie Mae, and Franklin Raines about how Fannie & Freddie honchos manipulated those multi-millions upon millions of dollar, year over year, bonuses on the taxpayer dime, from the 1990s to present day.

Hello Savak, What you describe is called a 'secured credit instrument'. It happens to be the single most viable tool for a person with lousy credit to improve their credit rating, relatively inexpensively. Think about it: They give you 250.00 in credit, and immediately assign $200 on to the account as an accepted debit for the opportunity to better one's credit score. It still leaves the person with $50 in emergency funds, yet gives the applicant the opportunity to prove that they're credit-worthy. Remember, credit is someone else agreeing to lend a stranger's money to the applicant. If we don't want the 'stranger' to lose his or her hard earned income, then we need to make sure that we minimize their risk, right? The implied (if not specified) contract is that as the applicant demonstrates responsibilty and respect for 'the stranger's hard earned income, via a solid payment history, that the credit limit will be raised, as the credit score is increased. I guess my point is that we seem to have lost sight of who the stranger is. It's you and me, and everyone who has deposited our hard-earned money into interest bearing, savings accounts!!!

Very good points about credit cards and their practices. How about the ones who offer you a 250.00 initial credit limit and immediately charge 200.00 in fees to set up the account so you only have 50.00 to spend and you are already 200.00 in debt.

I answered this one at close to midnight my time last night Savak, so I thought it was serious! Just goes to show how well I function towards the end of a long day then.....

I guess I am the only one that thought this was funny. Maybe it's my delivery or maybe my sense of humor is just twisted.

That's okay James. Read on. Everyone else is taking it serious too. I think I really opened a can of worms here. I am at a loss on how to answer some of these comments. But they deserve an answer because some of them are well thought out.

Well shoot! It sounded like a good idea until you picked it apart.

I'm sorry to be the voice of reason. Look I am not far from my 50th birthday, but that's just the worry wart in me. I was talking to my boyfriend who is over 50 and he was like, Where do I sign up at? I was like, hon it is just a proposal. He was like, I don't mind. I can make do on that money. He was serous. But I just saw the money; I didn't know the other two were stipulations. shoot why not make it perhaps $1.5mill. that waythat 500G, they can get the car and house and make do very well on that million until social security kicks in. just another thought.

Yes the economy is definitely in trouble and we are all having to cut back on the things we spend money on.

I agree. If it worked at all it would take too long to implement and wouldn't benefit the ones it was meant to help.

I appreciate that things are different in your country but I think you are misinformed about how much better it is here now with the new president. Things have not changed. Most politicians talk a good game but once they are in office things just go on as before. Many people put there hopes in Obama but have not had them realized.

Hi Ladyluna. I gave you a br because your comment is well thought out and addresses all the issues. You have obviously given this a lot of thought and follow the political news. I have to admit that I don't really follow politics. I doubt very seriously that anything I have to say on the subject will make one bit of a difference in anyone's life. When I saw the article that led to this post I thought it was funny and thought that people here on mylot would get a chuckle out of it too. I didn't for one minute consider it as a viable option. I guess my sense of humor was on strike the day I posted this.

They would probably do the same thing we are doing now when we can't afford to live on our retirement. We would just have to go back to work.

People are suffering all over. I don't really think any form of government can make a difference.

Some very good points as well. In fact I don't think there is any hope for this system.

Those are all good questions. The fact has been proven over and over again that as long as you give people money they will expect to receive it. The only way to stop this is for people to take responsibility for themselves. Unfortunately there have been so many years that people have depended on the government to take care of them that they no longer have the skills to take care of themselves.