Simplify the solution...

What we have to recognize, now, as urgently as today, is that our government's sole purpose is to protect and serve the people of America. Not the corporations, not the financial institutions, not the commodities markets, but the people...Our government is elected to serve its constituency. This is lost on everyone in public office, it seems. Paulson and Bernanke are buddying up, having dinner with the powerful lobbyists and corporations, making deals that are not in the best interest of the people of this country. The lack of regulation allows them to act in a private, self serving fashion that protects the powerful and wealthy and literally ignores the majority. It is unfathomable that Paulson refuses to address the foreclosure issue with the $700 billion he has easily extracted from the American taxpayer. It is incomprehensible that he is allowed to hand over cash to financial institutions, that have engaged in risk laden investments and cash laundering, to keep them solvent, without regulation on how to deploy it.

Sheila Bair, chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, has moved heaven and earth to get Paulson and Bernanke to embrace a massive program to stop the housing foreclosures and take the first step toward ending the chaos. To say that she has had any level of success with these men is an understatement. She has not been able to reach them.

Brooksley Born, the chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 1996 to 1999, foresaw the calamity of self regulation given to financial institutions, and battled to impose regulation on them. She was stopped by Alan Greenspan, Arthur Levitt and Robert Rubin, the major economic figures in the Clinton administration. She has since left her post, undoubtedly due to frustration. She will be a major figure when the history of this great financial failure is chronicled.

We have sound thinkers in government, but apparently they are not in a position to act, only to advise. And when those that are in a position to act have powerful hands in their pockets, they pander to them.

This stinks and it is inflicting great harm on the working class of America.

On January 21, Obama needs to get angry and take significant action. Not only is this entire financial melt down wrong it is debilitating, and criminal.

I am of the opinion that we should not bail out the auto manufacturers. They have mismanaged their businesses, made grave mistakes and missed entire markets due to their greed and arrogance. Aside from being distasteful this is what bankruptcy filings are for. They force a reorganization with the intent to rebuild successfully. Chapter 11 is not a punishment, it is a gift. Bailing out these companies is a crime. It wont correct, it will perpetuate bad business practices and delay the inevitable failure of the current business model.

My suggestion is that we take the $25 billion earmarked for the automakers and loan it to the employees that will be displaced in the event of a bankruptcy filing. Maintain their rate of pay, for a specific period of time, allowing them to find employment in other growth industries. What is so complicated about this strategy? What is wrong with a simple straight forward solution? 3 million people will loose their jobs, or their dealerships as a result of bankruptcy filings among Ford, GM and Chrysler. Could we use 3 million people to establish wind farms across the country to generate energy. Can we use 3 million people to facilitate clean coal initiatives to make current energy resources environmentally friendly? Could we use 3 million people to harvest solar energy ? Why is this so hard to execute? The employees of GM earning $70/hour* should not be punished for taking the wage, that some feel is inflated due to union contracts. Let's re-deploy these people into a role that is worth $70/hour. Currently they are getting paid to flood the market with product we don't want, let's transform their job into one that is critical to the self sufficiency of our energy supply...then their wage will be considered commensurate.

Come on people! Lets think then leap....vs leaping without any clear thought whatsoever....
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*Correction : Avg per hour wage of an auto worker is $28.50. Print media (NYT Op Ed columnist) quoted $70/hr wage for unionized auto workers. This proved to be an unreliable source. My bright and dear friend Joe set the record straight ... Thanks Joe.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_does_a_union_auto_worker_earn