Friends,
The richest 400 Americans -- that's right, just four hundred people -- own MORE than the bottom 150 million Americans combined. 400 rich Americans have got more stashed away than half the entire country! Their combined net worth is $1.6 trillion. During the eight years of the Bush Administration, their wealth has increased by nearly $700 billion -- the same amount that they are now demanding we give to them for the "bailout." Why don't they just spend the money they made under Bush to bail themselves out? They'd still have nearly a trillion dollars left over to spread amongst themselves!
Of course, they are not going to do that -- at least not voluntarily. George W. Bush was handed a $127 billion surplus when Bill Clinton left office. Because that money was OUR money and not his, he did what the rich prefer to do -- spend it and never look back. Now we have a $9.5 trillion debt. Why on earth would we even think of giving these robber barons any more of our money?
I would like to propose my own bailout plan. My suggestions, listed below, are predicated on the singular and simple belief that the rich must pull themselves up by their own platinum bootstraps. Sorry, fellows, but you drilled it into our heads one too many times: There... is... no... free... lunch. And thank you for encouraging us to hate people on welfare! So, there will be no handouts from us to you. The Senate, tonight, is going to try to rush their version of a "bailout" bill to a vote. They must be stopped. We did it on Monday with the House, and we can do it again today with the Senate.
It is clear, though, that we cannot simply keep protesting without proposing exactly what it is we think Congress should do. So, after consulting with a number of people smarter than Phil Gramm, here is my proposal, now known as "Mike's Rescue Plan." It has 10 simple, straightforward points. They are:
1. APPOINT A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR TO CRIMINALLY INDICT ANYONE ON WALL STREET WHO KNOWINGLY CONTRIBUTED TO THIS COLLAPSE. Before any new money is expended, Congress must commit, by resolution, to criminally prosecute anyone who had anything to do with the attempted sacking of our economy. This means that anyone who committed insider trading, securities fraud or any action that helped bring about this collapse must go to jail. This Congress must call for a Special Prosecutor who will vigorously go after everyone who created the mess, and anyone else who attempts to scam the public in the future.
2. THE RICH MUST PAY FOR THEIR OWN BAILOUT. They may have to live in 5 houses instead of 7. They may have to drive 9 cars instead of 13. The chef for their mini-terriers may have to be reassigned. But there is no way in hell, after forcing family incomes to go down more than $2,000 dollars during the Bush years, that working people and the middle class are going to fork over one dime to underwrite the next yacht purchase.
If they truly need the $700 billion they say they need, well, here is an easy way they can raise it:
a) Every couple who makes over a million dollars a year and every single taxpayer who makes over $500,000 a year will pay a 10% surcharge tax for five years. (It's the Senator Sanders plan. He's like Colonel Sanders, only he's out to fry the right chickens.) That means the rich will still be paying less income tax than when Carter was president. This will raise a total of $300 billion.
b) Like nearly every other democracy, charge a 0.25% tax on every stock transaction. This will raise more than $200 billion in a year.
c) Because every stockholder is a patriotic American, stockholders will forgo receiving a dividend check for one quarter and instead this money will go the treasury to help pay for the bailout.
d) 25% of major U.S. corporations currently pay NO federal income tax. Federal corporate tax revenues currently amount to 1.7% of the GDP compared to 5% in the 1950s. If we raise the corporate income tax back to the level of the 1950s, that gives us an extra $500 billion.
All of this combined should be enough to end the calamity. The rich will get to keep their mansions and their servants, and our United States government ("COUNTRY FIRST!") will have a little leftover to repair some roads, bridges and schools.
3. BAIL OUT THE PEOPLE LOSING THEIR HOMES, NOT THE PEOPLE WHO WILL BUILD AN EIGHTH HOME. There are 1.3 million homes in foreclosure right now. That is what is at the heart of this problem. So instead of giving the money to the banks as a gift, pay down each of these mortgages by $100,000. Force the banks to renegotiate the mortgage so the homeowner can pay on its current value. To insure that this help does no go to speculators and those who have tried to make money by flipping houses, this bailout is only for people's primary residence. And in return for the $100K paydown on the existing mortgage, the government gets to share in the holding of the mortgage so that it can get some of its money back. Thus, the total initial cost of fixing the mortgage crisis at its roots (instead of with the greedy lenders) is $150 billion, not $700 billion.
And let's set the record straight. People who have defaulted on their mortgages are not "bad risks." They are our fellow Americans, and all they wanted was what we all want and most of us still get: a home to call their own. But during the Bush years, millions of them lost the decent paying jobs they had. Six million fell into poverty. Seven million lost their health insurance. And every one of them saw their real wages go down by $2,000. Those who dare to look down on these Americans who got hit with one bad break after another should be ashamed. We are a better, stronger, safer and happier society when all of our citizens can afford to live in a home that they own.
4. IF YOUR BANK OR COMPANY GETS ANY OF OUR MONEY IN A "BAILOUT," THEN WE OWN YOU. Sorry, that's how it's done. If the bank gives me money so I can buy a house, the bank "owns" that house until I pay it all back -- with interest. Same deal for Wall Street. Whatever money you need to stay afloat, if our government considers you a safe risk -- and necessary for the good of the country -- then you can get a loan, but we will own you. If you default, we will sell you. This is how the Swedish government did it and it worked.
5. ALL REGULATIONS MUST BE RESTORED. THE REAGAN REVOLUTION IS DEAD. This catastrophe happened because we let the fox have the keys to the henhouse. In 1999, Phil Gramm authored a bill to remove all the regulations that governed Wall Street and our banking system. The bill passed and Clinton signed it. Here's what Sen. Phil Gramm, McCain's chief economic advisor, said at the bill signing:
"In the 1930s ... it was believed that government was the answer. It was believed that stability and growth came from government overriding the functioning of free markets.
"We are here today to repeal [that] because we have learned that government is not the answer. We have learned that freedom and competition are the answers. We have learned that we promote economic growth and we promote stability by having competition and freedom."I am proud to be here because this is an important bill; it is a deregulatory bill. I believe that that is the wave of the future, and I am awfully proud to have been a part of making it a reality."
This bill must be repealed. Bill Clinton can help by leading the effort for the repeal of the Gramm bill and the reinstating of even tougher regulations regarding our financial institutions. And when they're done with that, they can restore the regulations for the airlines, the inspection of our food, the oil industry, OSHA, and every other entity that affects our daily lives. All oversight provisions for any "bailout" must have enforcement monies attached to them and criminal penalties for all offenders.
6. IF IT'S TOO BIG TO FAIL, THEN THAT MEANS IT'S TOO BIG TO EXIST. Allowing the creation of these mega-mergers and not enforcing the monopoly and anti-trust laws has allowed a number of financial institutions and corporations to become so large, the very thought of their collapse means an even bigger collapse across the entire economy. No one or two companies should have this kind of power. The so-called "economic Pearl Harbor" can't happen when you have hundreds -- thousands -- of institutions where people have their money. When you have a dozen auto companies, if one goes belly-up, we don't face a national disaster. If you have three separately-owned daily newspapers in your town, then one media company can't call all the shots (I know... What am I thinking?! Who reads a paper anymore? Sure glad all those mergers and buyouts left us with a strong and free press!). Laws must be enacted to prevent companies from being so large and dominant that with one slingshot to the eye, the giant falls and dies. And no institution should be allowed to set up money schemes that no one can understand. If you can't explain it in two sentences, you shouldn't be taking anyone's money.
7. NO EXECUTIVE SHOULD BE PAID MORE THAN 40 TIMES THEIR AVERAGE EMPLOYEE, AND NO EXECUTIVE SHOULD RECEIVE ANY KIND OF "PARACHUTE" OTHER THAN THE VERY GENEROUS SALARY HE OR SHE MADE WHILE WORKING FOR THE COMPANY. In 1980, the average American CEO made 45 times what their employees made. By 2003, they were making 254 times what their workers made. After 8 years of Bush, they now make over 400 times what their average employee makes. How this can happen at publicly held companies is beyond reason. In Britain, the average CEO makes 28 times what their average employee makes. In Japan, it's only 17 times! The last I heard, the CEO of Toyota was living the high life in Tokyo. How does he do it on so little money? Seriously, this is an outrage. We have created the mess we're in by letting the people at the top become bloated beyond belief with millions of dollars. This has to stop. Not only should no executive who receives help out of this mess profit from it, but any executive who was in charge of running his company into the ground should be fired before the company receives any help.
8. STRENGTHEN THE FDIC AND MAKE IT A MODEL FOR PROTECTING NOT ONLY PEOPLE'S SAVINGS, BUT ALSO THEIR PENSIONS AND THEIR HOMES. Obama was correct yesterday to propose expanding FDIC protection of people's savings in their banks to $250,000. But this same sort of government insurance must be given to our nation's pension funds. People should never have to worry about whether or not the money they've put away for their old age will be there. This will mean strict government oversight of companies who manage their employees' funds -- or perhaps it means that the companies will have to turn over those funds and their management to the government. People's private retirement funds must also be protected, but perhaps it's time to consider not having one's retirement invested in the casino known as the stock market. Our government should have a solemn duty to guarantee that no one who grows old in this country has to worry about ending up destitute.
9. EVERYBODY NEEDS TO TAKE A DEEP BREATH, CALM DOWN, AND NOT LET FEAR RULE THE DAY. Turn off the TV! We are not in the Second Great Depression. The sky is not falling. Pundits and politicians are lying to us so fast and furious it's hard not to be affected by all the fear mongering. Even I, yesterday, wrote to you and repeated what I heard on the news, that the Dow had the biggest one day drop in its history. Well, that's true in terms of points, but its 7% drop came nowhere close to Black Monday in 1987 when the stock market in one day lost 23% of its value. In the '80s, 3,000 banks closed, but America didn't go out of business. These institutions have always had their ups and downs and eventually it works out. It has to, because the rich do not like their wealth being disrupted! They have a vested interest in calming things down and getting back into the Jacuzzi.
As crazy as things are right now, tens of thousands of people got a car loan this week. Thousands went to the bank and got a mortgage to buy a home. Students just back to college found banks more than happy to put them into hock for the next 15 years with a student loan. Life has gone on. Not a single person has lost any of their money if it's in a bank or a treasury note or a CD. And the most amazing thing is that the American public hasn't bought the scare campaign. The citizens didn't blink, and instead told Congress to take that bailout and shove it. THAT was impressive. Why didn't the population succumb to the fright-filled warnings from their president and his cronies? Well, you can only say 'Saddam has da bomb' so many times before the people realize you're a lying sack of shite. After eight long years, the nation is worn out and simply can't take it any longer.
10. CREATE A NATIONAL BANK, A "PEOPLE'S BANK." If we really are itching to print up a trillion dollars, instead of giving it to a few rich people, why don't we give it to ourselves? Now that we own Freddie and Fannie, why not set up a people's bank? One that can provide low-interest loans for all sorts of people who want to own a home, start a small business, go to school, come up with the cure for cancer or create the next great invention. And now that we own AIG, the country's largest insurance company, let's take the next step and provide health insurance for everyone. Medicare for all. It will save us so much money in the long run. And we won't be 12th on the life expectancy list. We'll be able to have a longer life, enjoying our government-protected pension, and living to see the day when the corporate criminals who caused so much misery are let out of prison so that we can help reacclimate them to civilian life -- a life with one nice home and a gas-free car that was invented with help from the People's Bank.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com
P.S. Call your Senators now. Here's a backup link in case we crash that site again. They are going to attempt their own version of the Looting of America tonight. And let your reps know if you agree with my 10-point plan.
Les Leopold: The Forbes 400 Shows Why Our Nation Is Falling Apart
Collectively, the Forbes 400 have $1.57 trillion in wealth. It's hard to get your mind around a number like that. So let's imagine that it was available for the public good. What does $1.57 trillion buy?
_______________
Good Question,indeed!
I would think that rich People could afford to Bail Themselves & everyone else out, since they would get most of that Money back, right? Most rich People Own things--Companies & Businesses that other People will more then like spend & re-invest their money on & in!
I know that I only have A G.E.D, however I believe that I'm right about how the circulation of Currency works (or should work) in all of Our Society, am I wrong about this assessment?
I don't agree with passing this bill myself, but no matter how you feel about the bill it should sicken eveyone that in this time of sky id falling gloom and doom, the republican party still put PORK over politics. The same goes for any of those that claim to have changed their vote because Pelosy hurt their feelings. That is just as bad as the pundits who got on the press for "liberal bias" reporting on this. It was not the press that made it up, it was what the republican leader said himself.
It is long past time that this COUNTRY be FIRST for WE THE PEOPLE not the top 400 people!!!!
Our politicians must learn that coddling the corporations & the rich instead of TRULY representing WE THE PEOPLE will cost them their jobs!!!!
America Wake Up - Hold "our" politicians who "WORK FOR US" accountable!!!!
But you're making a great case for publicly financed elections.
Michael Moore, you ROCK my WORLD!!!
That's a laugh. You can't produce anything without labor.
Your plan is great!
Go Michael!
As to 3, why is bailing out homeowners more fair than bailing out investors? Aren't the people who bought a home they couldn't afford just as greedy and foolish as the bankers who gave them the loan? What about the investor who bought into a good company and because of a lack of transparency was caught off guard and screwed out of his investment? Shouldn't we make good his loss too?
"Wall Street" is not the enemy. It's a marketplace. Individual companies and individual CEOs are to blame as well as greedy Americans who bought more home than they could afford. To blame the market itself is like blaming the candy store because your son ate too much candy and got a stomach ache.
"Wall Street" is not a marketplace; it's a carnival. And the games are rigged.
Some of your suggestions have merit. But, I disagree strongly with 2b, 2c and 3.
Not everyone who invests in the stock market is rich. This crisis has been described as an economic 9/11 and it seems many people are acting just as hysterically as then. I expect everyone associated with Wall Street to be hauled off to Guantanamo Bay any day now.
More than half of all Americans have a retirement plan and guess where those retirement plans invest that money? The problem is that too many people don't take an active interest in their investments so they don't think of themselves as investors.
The reason so many wealthy people invest in stocks is because it is the best way to increase wealth over time. Instead of discouraging people from investing by adding taxes and other disincentives, we should educate children early about how to manage investments. Nothing would give Americans a better shot at real wealth and hope for a brighter future.
Furthermore, many retired people live off dividend checks. 2c will harm more people than it helps. Taking money out of people's hands is not a way to help the economy either.
CONTINUED
And as far as a 0.25% [one quarter of a percent] would have a significant impact on only the largest of investment transactions [a $1 million transaction would generate a $2500 tax].
Thirdly, there is a fundamental difference between mortgage holders in crisis and those who invest in the stock market: investing in stocks is a decision to GAMBLE with your capital in order to potentially make more on your investment--I have never met a home owner who considered purchasing their home as being anything even near the equivalent of playing the stock market.
You need to step outside of the systemic indoctrination of Friedmanite free market capitalism and look at what is at stake more objectively.
Lots of people around here stare into teacups and think the reflection is a genius.
If I may...
"Investing" ought not be "speculating." Or at least, they should be treated differently by the tax man. So I'm still on board with 2b, the 0.25% transaction tax. Hell, I pay over 6% sales tax, so why the fuss?
Why shouldn't the beneficiaries of the bailout be the ones to pay for it? Keep 2c.
Whether an investor or speculator is rich or poor, the rules should encourage good behavior. Right now they do not.
People DO understand they're in the market with their pensions, 501's, etc. The PROBLEM is they listen to financial charlatans for "perfessional" (sic) advice. Those folks tend NOT to recommend passive index funds. (Read up on Dan Solin, who also has a blue background.)
That the wealthy invest in stock is no reason the rules should favor the rich.
Re retirees and 2c, easy: make it means-tested at tax time. You make more than $100k? Donate. Less? Keep the dividend in full.
Last, how do I get a nice blue background?
I've heard a suggestion: Everyone gets, say, $50,000. If you hold a mortgage, it will be applied directly to your mortgage. If you haven't contributed to the mess, it will be a "stimulus check." I like this better than what you've proposed.
yep....there is plenty of blame to share on mainstreet as well...not that wall street isn't ridiculous right now...but taking out a huge mortgage without a huge income is just stupid...how many of these loans that are in default should never have been approved in the first place?
How about a bit of responsibility across the board? Main street was just as greedy at wall street, only wall street stuffed more $$$ in it's pockets... My wife and I decided not to take out a huge loan, as a result of my deciding against taking on debt, I should loose out on a 100k or 50k payout? That is ridiculous...penalizing americans who make good decisions...
Go Michael, get yourself back on CNN...make some waves...