LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

Infusion of patriotism could help fix crisis

Paul Gwin, Las Vegas

Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008 | 2:02 a.m.

About everyone agrees by now that jobs are the No. 1 need for recovery. Here’s an idea for financing job-creating government programs:

Initiate a patriotic sales campaign for government bonds, as the Franklin Roosevelt administration did to help defray the cost of World War II. Call them “National Recovery Bonds,” “America’s Future Bonds” or whatever catchy title a sales team can come up with.

Objectives:

(1) Bring Iraq debt back within our borders so the interest circulates within the U.S.

(2) Appeal to citizens’ patriotism and allow them to take part in our nation’s recovery. Who knows, maybe some of the upper crust that received big tax cuts will park some of their capital in safe U.S. bonds.

(3) Gradually pay down the debt so we don’t dump it on our children. Keep a thermometer or graph before the public to show our progress.

It pains a lot of us to see our country declining while we are burying ourselves in debt to China. Could we possibly end the Iraq war right away and spend the money at home on job-creating projects?

Discussion: 3 comments so far…

By fremmasmind

11/29/08 at 4:58 a.m.

Suggest removal

Patriotism has been recognized by our middle class throughout the United States since our begining. It seems that the big corporates'(and politicians) patiotism was present when our government gave them millions of dollars to help them with the transition of our middle class jobs to foreign countries.
By Indianadave

11/29/08 at 7:10 p.m.

Suggest removal

We need to bring manufacturing back to our country and quickly. Indiana used to be a manufacturing hub with lots of Union jobs and good pay. We had a lot of disposable income which we used to buy cars, homes, quality American-made clothes and other USA products. We also had plenty of dough to take extravagant vacations to places like.....Las Vegas.
Today Indiana like most of the midwest is struggling. Our people are fearful and our children are flipping burgers and living with Mom and Dad at age 35. Vegas is starting to feel our pain with your economic crisis.
Face it, friends and fellow Americans! We are all in this together. No man is an island, we all sink or swim together.
This foreign-made stuff is nothing but low quality trash, foisted off on us by the big business interests so that they could enrich themselves into billionaire status. In the process they deprived us of our livelyhoods and national pride and our kids "compete" against 50 cent per hour foreigners. I have 25 year old American-made clothing I still wear. These China garments are lucky to survive a dozen washings. Likewise all the rest of the pitiful crap they flood us with.
Our leaders are supposed to represent we the people and make decisions to the benefit of The United States of America. Demand that they do that. A good start would be the return of America's jobs and minimum involvement in foreign affairs.
By Scott

11/30/08 at 9:02 p.m.

Suggest removal

Well Dave, I hope I am wrong, but I think we are seeing the economy our way of life as it will be for some time.

There is nothing on the horizon to lift our economy, no new industry, nothing to pull us up.
Sad the way that both political parties either sat by or voted for things that took so many manufacturing jobs.