Note to Obama--START THINKING BIGGER!!!

At this point, as we start getting more details about the pending stimulus package, it seems that the common response to the issue is this: "It is NOT bold enough." Democrats argue that the spending is not going to be commensurate with what is truly needed. Republicans argue that the tax cuts are not sufficient to stimulate the economy. In some respects, I think they are both right.

Pundits like Jim Cramer are saying that the infrastructure spending proposed in this bill is woefully inadequate. He points to the slump in industrial and building company stock prices, post Stimulus announcement, as a sign that the market doesn't like the Bill.

On the other end, GOP leader Rush Limbaugh has been issuing edicts to the GOP to try to get more bold tax cuts into the plan, such as a halving of the business tax rates from 35% to (I suppose) 17.5%. And a one year moratorium on the Capital Gains tax. He is even willing to concede government spending that Obama wants (although I would suspect he will continue to rail against whatever spending he doesn't approve of).

I don't think the capital gains tax cut idea is a winner. Giving someone a tax cut on $0 gains is kind of like giving Paris Hilton a free weekend stay at any Waldorf Astoria in New York. It sounds great until you realize that she owns the hotel.

On the other hand, slashing corporate tax rates could be an idea to ponder. Here are a few more:

1. Increase funding for Amtrak--By a LOT. $5Billion to lay the high-speed tracks. I can hear the howling already. "They haven't made a profit in years. They can't do anything right". But they have never been funded properly. And it is shameful that they can't build the track to allow the Acela to run from Boston to New York, to Philly, to Washington, to Atlanta at high speeds. Make them competitive with flying on price, and take a bite into the daily spending on foreign oil for the air flights between those cities. Every bit helps!

2. More funding for Domestic Energy programs--Wind, solar, tidal. Whatever we have put in, we need more. Let's be real here. There is a way to get this done. A commitment to using wind in the plains states, and Solar power in the desert southwest alone (even without an improved electricity grid) would reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Can we at least TRY this? With a REAL effort?

3. Opportunity for refinancing at 4%--here's the attempt to get some of the mortgage train wreck fixed. Let's reward the people who did it right, with an opportunity to refinance, and put money in their pockets. At the same time, let's save those who can be saved with a decrease in mortgage rates. Let's get cash in the hands of people by reducing their monthly debts. This could also help to start wiping out excess inventory.

4. Infrastructure, Infrastructure, Infrastructure--Broadband, Water, Bridges, Public Transports, new auto and truck fleets that run on LNG, Electricity--This is all part of the Stimulus package, but is there enough of it? Can we make a real effort to make this happen over the next 10 years? Will we look back in 2019 and see a better America in these areas? Will we still be driving cars that run on gasoline, at 15 MPG?

5. CAFE Standards--on that point, isn't it time to follow California's lead on this? Let's make a real dedication to getting off our habit of foreign oil. I have written in the past that every 5 MPG improvement can save us 4-5 days of foreign oil. I was saddened the other day, when I walked through an Acura dealership, and saw brand new Acura TL's, getting 16-22 MPG. It was truly disheartening. That is a car that should get 35 MPG. End of story. I am troubled that the auto makers are not taking a lead on this. I am actually thinking that this may be a case for America to lead the way. Ford and GM have moved their fleets above 30 MPG, and perhaps this is a sign that American cars could survive after all.


In the end, I am not against tax cuts, and I am not against spending. I am against trying to do one at the expense of the other. And I am against a small-time effort. It's time to go big or go home, here. It's time to give game-changing ideas a kick in the seat.