The Business Section of the St. Petersburg Times Newspaper on Sunday asked readers for ideas on “How Would You Fix the Economy?” …. One reader really nailed it!
Dear Mr. President,
Patriotic retirement:
There’s about 40 million people over 50 in the work force -pay them $1 million
apiece severance with the following stipulations:
1) They leave their jobs. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.
2) They buy NEW American cars. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.
3) They either buy a house/pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed.
Can’t get any easier than that!
And it will cost less than we have already spent.
This appeared in the St. Petersburg Times on April 12:
Editor’s note: In February we published reader suggestions — serious and otherwise — for how to fix the economic crisis. This was one of them (not “the winner” as some message boards have suggested):
“There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force … pay them $1 million apiece severance with stipulations. They leave their jobs. Forty million job openings — unemployment fixed. They buy new American cars. Forty million cars ordered — auto industry fixed. They either buy a house or pay off their mortgage — housing crisis fixed.”
We didn’t print that it would cost $4 trillion, or less than the bailout. But readers are right that this would cost $40 trillion — nearly three times the national gross domestic product and nearly four times the national debt. So, a fun idea? Sure, just like making pro athletes foot the bailout bill, investing in a national bullet train system or legalizing marijuana — all ideas our readers suggested. An effective one? Not at all. Of course, world leaders’ ideas haven’t been terribly effective yet, either.
It’s not too late to share your ideas at http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/article973953.ece.