Comments on: Memo to Uncle Sam: Small Business Needs Your Help, Too!

By: Michael Vaughn

Michael Vaughn — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:26:37 +0000

I love this article! Yes, it may be a simplistic approach to a very large problem but maybe just maybe that’s what we need.

Paulsen’s sacrifice of Lehman brothers while bailing out AIG was appalling! Then giving 29 billion so Chase could acquired Bears & Stearns

Then giving 700 billion (unregulated) dollars to the very companies who had a hand in creating this mess in the first place!

Yet through all of this, NO ONE remembered the small business person! or the homeowner!

You’re AXXESS PROGRAM, while it is the best thing for the country, will never fly – - WHY? because it’s too easy!

Thanks for your insight!

By: mg

mg — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:12:09 +0000

get the word out! send this to congress…..

By: Ty

Ty — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:10:46 +0000

Wow. I’m not an economist, I’m just you’re average American debtor, worker, and user-of-company-time-for-internet… But, this plan is something everyone needs to hear! Sure, it needs some refinement, a little cleaning up, but its absolute genius in its essence.

By: Rob D

Rob D — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 09:33:22 +0000

I have to somewhat agree with Shane, although I really like the idea. We will NEVER borrow at the Fed rate, because costs will need to be covered … or our taxes raised. Either way we pay. Second, the agency to handle this would take a couple of years to get running. If you believe the politicians, we don’t have that much time. I say we let the chips fall. After all, this whole mess was really propogated by the democrats in 1977, 1995 and 2003 the the CRA and re-writing Fannie and Freddie rules.

By: John S

John S — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:18:40 +0000

Shane,
I have to agree with Guillermo. Besides, aren’t the taxpayers already flipping the bill?

By: Guillermo Borges

Guillermo Borges — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:13:44 +0000

Shane,

I would not dismiss Rosalind’s neat idea out of hand. Our government already handles millions of student loans. Granted, these are typically with/through banks. However, there could be a new type of banking system designed with significantly more cost controls. For example, the upper limit on rates banks charge consumers should be greatly reduced. After all, why should banks make all the profit? As Rosalind suggests, consumers and small businesses can provide much more economic expansion if they get a greater cut of that low government rate.

By: Shane

Shane — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:33:01 +0000

Seems like you would get a lot of people arguing that the government shouldn’t be involved in regulating loans, which is why they have the banks do it. You would need a massive government body to make loans to consumers/businesses (which would cost the tax payer money). It would be bigger than all of the banks combined (if they decided to do this). It would probably be extremely inefficient as most government agencies are.

The fed would have to add in a profit margin on the loans because they would need to account for the cost of the organizational body AND the cost of defaulting, etc else that cost would be passed off to the taxpayer.

So now you have the same loan cost, but from the fed instead of a bank and you have an impossibly complicated process because it is a government organization and since there is no competition no one has motivation to push anything through.

I would love to borrow at 2% and I would pay it back, but this simple solution is a little too simple

Granted there is something supremely wrong with the way the lending industry works, but this isn’t a solution.

By: Advanced Spinal Care Center - NUCCA care for Cleveland, Ohio

Advanced Spinal Care Center - NUCCA care for Cleveland, Ohio — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 08:23:58 +0000

[...] chance of financial meltdown (less than 5%). If that small chance starts to become a reality, a better plan has been proposed by Rosalind [...]

By: Rosalind

Rosalind — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:38:02 +0000

Thanks, Lori! Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best ones. Anything you could do to spread the word at Time, Inc. would be great!

By: lori Ioannou

lori Ioannou — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:14:05 +0000

Rosalind

This is a creative solution that just might work. How can we get this message to Congress quick?