I saw this and HAD to share it. I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments on if the below "bailout plan" could actually work.
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The Birk Economic Recovery Plan
Hi Pals,
I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.
Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We
Deserve It Dividend.
To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide
U.S. Citizens 18+. Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and
child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..
So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals
$425,000.00.
My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It
Dividend.
Of course, it would NOT be tax free.
So let's assume a tax rate of 30%.
Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.
That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.
But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket.
A husband and wife has $595,000.00.
What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?
-Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.
-Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads
-Put away money for college - it'll be there
-Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.
-Buy a new car - create jobs
-Invest in the market - capital drives growth
-Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves
-Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else
Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks
who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is
cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.
If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of
trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( 'vote buy' ) economic incentive that is
being proposed by one of our candidates for President.
If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult
U S Citizen 18+!
As for AIG - liquidate it.
Sell off its parts.
Let American General go back to being American General.
Sell off the real estate.
Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.
Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't.
Sure it's a crazy idea that can 'never work.'
But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!
How do you spell Economic Boom?
I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion We
Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington
DC .
And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because
$25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.
Ahhh....I feel so much better getting that off my chest.
Kindest personal regards,
T. J. Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic
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Anyone disagree?
Posts
Compliance is Not Consent
5 years ago
10 comments:
My math may be off, but doesn't it come out to $425/person instead of $425,000?
Yep you are right. He missed a few zeros there. Either way I am up for $425 too. :)
However, I'll take the $1,000 that 'one of the presidential candidates' offered, instead.
Does this mean we will be paying for this plan in the future or am I just paranoid? I say I am not. I also say someone is still getting a cut of this. Is it not funny that JP Morgan is once again buying out a big bank--WaMu,like they did during the Depression times? It was JP Morgan that started the rush on banks during that time by spreading frightful rumors meant to scare people from investing more money in their own banks thus the rush on the banks to get their money out. It all sounds too familiar to me. I may be an old fogey, but this is not mere coincidence. One man determining our fate assures me like it assures me that if McCain becomes the President, I fear WW III will ensue due to his trigger happy finger on the Nuclear button.
redwing which candidate wants $1000 to go to us? i'm down with that for sure!
i hate the bailout, but its worse that paulson tried to rush it through by going to hundreds of media outlets to attempt a sales job on america.
sometimes i see bush and his cronies and wonder why the heck we voted this male bimbo back in office.
jessica
How much do you really want Sarah Palin to "know."
Is she competent? Is she smart enough? Is she smarter than an
Investment Bank CEO? Smarter than the guy that ran Freddie Mac? Fannie Mae? Smarter than the CEO of Bear Stearns? AIG? Lehman Brothers? Ben Bernake? Hank Paulson? President Bush? Sometimes HOW MUCH YOU KNOW, is NOT the question they should be
asking.... NO, I'm not voting for her, but I'd be happy to if I was
philosophically inclined to do so.
The sharpest minds in the world are theoretically the leaders
of the world's largest corporations, especially banks, central
banks and trillion dollar insurance companies.
These are the people to whom we entrust our entire future.
Now, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that you borrow
money from the Fed at 2%, loan it out at 6% and earn 4%.
Period.
That's all a bank has to do to make money. If a tiny little
bank starts up in a community and writes $150,000,000 in loans,
(about 600 houses) they make 4% on that, or about $600,000. That
will cover the building lease space, the banks owner/CEO for
$150,000 and perhaps a few bankers at 50K each with a nice
little profit left over. There is nothing complicated about it. I explained it to my 10
year old son in about 7 minutes. He got it. He's not as smart as
Sarah Palin.
The bank can also take deposits. They pay 0-3% on those
deposits and then invest them into bonds that pay 1-5%. Again. Gauranteed lncome. Brainless activity. No thinking required. None. Zip. (mis-spelled on purpose!)
It is the absolutely easiest and simpleton way to make money on
the planet.
NO ONE can screw it up.
"But Kevin what if the loans 'go bad' or become toxic?"
First of all there are no toxic loans. There are toxic people.
1) There are corrupt people who write a loan that someone can't
pay off in exchange for the fees.
2) There are idiots who think they can buy a house they can't
afford.
3) There are STUPID bankers who take a loan with less than 20%
down.
4) There are GREEDY bankers who write loans knowing that the
performance of the loan will be absorbed by the Freddie Mac...
KEYPOINT: People who aren't corrupt or stupid CAN NOT screw it
up. Ready for the ONLY solution?
Okay, okay--a friend politely told me that I sounded like a weirdo because I did not specify what the hell I was talking about. I was talking about the bailout plan and not so much about what the author was talking about. I just saw this as an opputunity to voice how frustrated I am with the stupidity of the bailout plan and how it will eventually cost us as taxpayers in the end. Why should we be punished and not the cheating, lying, thieving bankers? Why? I may be an old fart, but I remember what my mother and father told me about what they went through during the Depression and how it was caused and this time it smells like another rotten banker trying to make us pay for their mistakes. Now that stinks!
Here is something I saw and wanted to post.
U.S. Tax System explained in Beer
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten
comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it
would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every
day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the
owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers,' he
said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. 'Drinks
for the ten now cost just $80. The group still wanted to pay their bill
the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They
would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the
paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that
everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by
six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then
the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink
his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce
each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out
the amounts each should pay.
And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100%
savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 ( 22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued
to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to
compare their savings. 'I only got a dollar out of the $20,' declared
the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10! ''Yeah,
that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too..
It's unfair that he got ten times more than I! ''That's true!!' shouted
the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two?
The wealthy get all the breaks!
''Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get
anything at all. The system exploits the poor!
'The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the
tenth man (the richest) didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down
and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they
discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between
all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our
tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most
benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being
wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might
start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.Professor of Economics University of Georgia
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.
Benny I feel your pain and am one that is glad the bailout package didn't pass. It's not refined enough to include punishment for the idiots who got us into this mess.
Larry, while I think the story you provided is cute and a good read, it doesn't quite cover the whole picture. In that scenario there are only 10 people so it's not a good representation of American tax structure.
Still a cute story though, just a bit misleading.
Those of you wanting the 'fair tax' system in place are dreaming. It will never happen in our lifetime or in our children's lifetime.
As for the 10th man leaving...be my guest...head to another country to live... since we create more millionaires in 1 year than the entire world does in 1 year, we'll just create another 10th man from within and former 10th will never be missed!
why do you say that redwing? According to The Tax Foundation, in 2004 32% of people paid no tax.. but the 2nd paragraph at the bottom explains how one return is for multiple people so in essence it is 40%. This is the first 4 people out of the 10 listed.
It is absolutely misleading because the suggestion is that the 32% of people who didn't pay taxes are poor. That isn't the case. I still remember when I was in college I didn't have to pay taxes because I didn't make enough at my job to warrant it. That is the case for a lot of first time workers. Not saying it is the right way to do it...just saying that's the way it is.
I look forward to the 10th man leaving...if he doesn't like it here then move to another country. You don't see that happening, thus the concept of "I'll just leave" is a complete farse.
That's all I'm saying. Still a good story.
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