Creating a Plan to End Federal Mismanagement of the Economy

Back in the U.S. from a vacation in the Canadian wilderness, I discover to my shock that politicians in charge have done nothing to resolve the financial crisis they created by their years of mismanagement (otherwise known as reducing "big government" and cutting "regulatory red tape"). That generation of Washington's refusal to take responsibility for monitoring the behavior of corrupt corporate executives on Wall Street and elsewhere was the gift of Ronald Reagan. Bush is certainly guilty have having continued the worst of Reagan's nonsense, but Reagan was the one who started it. Make no mistake about it: this is a man-made, a Republican-made crisis.

Anyway, Bush has now had weeks, in fact months of warning that the Republicans' traditional hands-off attitude toward corruption in corporate America undermines national security by weakening our economy. Nevertheless, his only solution is to give his rich corporate buddies taxpayer funds--a handout to the rich with no strings attached, just like the no-strings-attached policy of letting him make war where and when he so chooses that he and his neo-con masters have always advocated.

The result is that even the short period of my two week vacation has seen astonishing deterioration in America's financial condition. The Bushites are right about one thing - this IS serious. We do have the capacity to wreck it all, folks. God may have provided us with this incredibly rich and beautiful land (I won't argue that point either way), but he absolutely did not guarantee that we could keep it forever. We have to earn that right. Rewarding the guilty is not exactly the way.

Here's a simple outline of a possible way forward: get a small (e.g., 7 people max) group of Americans who seem sort of open-minded and intelligent together to sketch out a plan (in contrast to the blank check concept pushed by Bush). Give them 72 hours. Send it to Congress and publicize. Two pages is fine - but two pages of outline with specifics. My recommendations for committee members:

• Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney
• Presidential candidate Ralph Nader
• Presidential candidate Ron Paul
• two recognized economists who have NOT ever served in Washington
• two recognized political scientists who have NOT ever served in Washingon.

Ask the Supreme Court justices to select the four economists and political scientists tomorrow during lunch. The names don't matter too much - any man in the street could do this job better than Bush did it. Common sense and decency are the main qualifications. Technical expertise comes later.

Suggestions for points to include in this little "statement of work to save America" are invited.