AN ECONOMIC FIX WITHOUT A $700 BILLION DOLLAR BAILOUT

Congress is rushing to find a bailout solution for the financial crisis that will cost tax payers billions of dollars. While fixing the problem is of the utmost urgency a crash of our economy is not as eminent as Washington is making it sound. Much of the rush has to do with those in Congress wanting to hit the campaign trail as all of the House and one third of the Senate is up for re-election in a 34 days.

There is a common sense approach, ( which is very similar to the one proposed by House Republicans and for the most part rejected), that does not require billions of dollars of tax payer money and part of this approach, the Mark to Market suspension will have an immediate affect on the market from the moment of the suspension. Click here for the link to this Common Sense Plan. Also I have added a link to help understand how Mark to Market accounting works and how it can have an immediate affect.

Ken Taylor



I. INSURANCE
a. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity.

b. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things:

d. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage.

e. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes.

f. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives.

II. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps underperforming executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs. c. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal.

III. MARK TO MARKET - (THIS ALONE WILL HAVE AN IMMEDIATE AFFECT)

a. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate.

b. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing.

IV. CAPITAL GAINS TAX

a. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing.

b. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down. This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to stand up, speak out, and fix this mess.