Timed Tax Incentives NOT stimulus NEEDED

- HASTE MAKES WASTE -
* NO TO STIMULUS/ *** YES FOR TIMED TARGET TAX INCENTIVES

Opinion by Donald D. Holmes

Let's face reality, Congress has no clue in how to get the U.S. out of the financial melt-down and mess the U.S. is faced with. All eyes are on President elect Obama, in hopes that he and his new administration have" life boats" at the ready to rescue folks as the U.S. ship continues to sink.

Stimulus is a word that inspires hope, but hope and a prayer will not signal "turn around" any more then the Bush stimulus and $700 billion bail-out of Wall-Street/ AIG/ Banks, and now GM & Chrysler, have.

First, there has to be a re-structuring of the Federal Reserve and U.S banking system. Following a re-structuring that includes the elimination of the position of Chairman, credit-card interest and fee limitations [ 13% max; 12% interest and 1% total fees/late charges etc. included ] need to be imposed nationwide.

Next, Congress needs to terminate, rescind and revoke Public Law 110-343
( $700 billion Wall-Street Bail Out ), Public Law 106-554 ( Commodities Futures Modernization Act ), and to enact legislation designed to stabilize financial markets by prohibiting the sale or transfer of securities held for less then 13 consecutive calendar months.

The Home Foreclosure Crisis, can be mitigated by adopting a mandatory “Rent to Own” program whereby non-performing ( residential homes in default ) assets can be converted to income assets, i.e., title is transferred to the bank, Fannie, Freddie, and a lease/rental with option to purchase is executed by the homeowner.

Timed Target Tax Incentives, instead of a “Stimulus”, are needed to right the U.S. ship. Neither Congress nor the incoming Obama Administration have the capacity to effectively oversee the expenditure of $800 billion dollars of taxpayer/treasury funds. Look at the $700 billion [ Pub. Law 110-343 ] bail-out boondoggle. The Government cannot spend it’s way out-of-a recession or depression. What Congress and Administration can and should do is it make
specific changes to the IRS code, limited to 3 years [ 2009, 2010, 2011 ], that would allow individuals to write off their losses, and business to write off it’s losses against income. Further, provide dollar-for-dollar tax credits to individuals and businesses that modify houses, offices, plants and equipment ( vehicles ) to use alternative fuels ( e.g., CNG, solar etc. ). Such tax incentives need to be applied across the board to individuals as well as business. There
are and have been CNG conversions for both cars and trucks on the market for
many years. With tax credit incentive, individuals and businesses could convert
existing vehicles to CNG ( clean air vehicle fuel ), and service stations and homeowners could install the necessary compressors and equipment to re-fuel the converted vehicles.

In order to fill employment gaps created by the downturn, Congress can and should extend unemployment benefits for a full 52 weeks, 1 year. Regardless of what action is taken or not taken, there will be substantial employment displacement ( unemployment ) for the next few years. Both Congress and the Obama Administration need to man-up to this reality, and act to mitigate the consequences by extending unemployment benefits.