Solving the American Financial Crisis

http://www.helium.com/items/1253125-solving-the-american-economic-crisis-requires-fundamental-changes-by-the-new-president Solving an economic crisis that took years to create involves a multipronged approach to rectifying the sins of the past. First and foremost, however, Americans need to ask themselves just how the country got into such a crisis? Among the reasons for the economic meltdown that saw the Dow plunge from more than 14,000 points to less than 9,000 in just a few months is the mortgage crisis and the lack of confidence in the financial sector that resulted. This then led to a retail stoppage when average consumers were panicked to find that their investments (retirement primary among them) had dropped in value. Suddenly, with homes and investments shrinking at a rapid pace, scaling back and saving became the mantra of the middle class. To what can Americans attribute the financialcrisis? First and foremost: greed. That greed led financial companies (including the mortgage business) to demand that Washington legislators reduce regulation. "Open the markets" was their cry. However, this resulted in loans being given to individuals far beyond what they could afford, and an unparalleled growth in real estate that could not be sustained. Much like Enron, as businesses tried to hide real debt (failing mortgages and foreclosures and overpriced real estate that no one wanted to buy), soon the cat was out of the bag, and banks needed real help. Now that Americans find themselves in real crisis what are some ideas to stem this tide and return our economics to a solid basis? So far the Bush Administration has thrown not just $700 billion as passed into law, but more than $7 trillion has been promised for a range of government programs to prop up a number of sectors. However, Secretary of the Treasury Paulson has wavered, changed strategies, and now done a foot fault, deciding to leave some of the money (and problems like the ailing auto industry) for the next president to deal with. In short, to solve the American economic crisis, the next president must take many (if not all) of the following steps: * Re-regulate the banking and mortgage companies. * Demand full plans and follow up reports from those companies receiving financial assistance from the US government (like the auto industry). * Put money into government infrastructure projects, where the infusion of cash will not only improve our schools, bridges, and highways, but circulate more money into the economy. * Require the mortgage lenders to renegotiate failing mortgages to stem the tide of foreclosures. * Create new jobs. * Demand that those banks receiving money from the government ease lending for home and auto loans, and particularly student loans. * Provide a stimulus to the middle class, whether through tax breaks or a rebate check to jump start the retail sector. * Work on campaign finance reform legislation to stem the influence of those who worked so hard to ensure deregulation. While the new president will have many more ideas, the suggestions above are the fundamentals that will infuse new confidence in the markets, provide the middle class with some financial relief, and assist those industries who need help, while ensuring that they are accountable for their actions and take corrective measures for past mistakes.