The Mike Wallace reading this week suggested looking back to the time of Roosevelt and implementing “new deal” tactics to deal with the suffering economy. It’s funny this was the topic for the week because just yesterday I was having a conversation with my father about this. We both agreed that the tax cuts of Bush in his era were nice for an economy in surplus, but in the end only benefitted big businesses. Furthermore, trickle-down plans of Reagan’s time were simply ineffective. The new deal worked well in Roosevelt’s time and it was one of the many things he was known for, so why couldn’t it work today?
I feel the mindset of New York City could be a big factor, as it has changed greatly over the past 80 years. Back in Roosevelt’s time, a hard days work was honorable. However, in today’s world, people are trying to get rich quickly while exerting as little effort as possible. Also, New York City has become mainly a finance-based economy.
It’s funny, my dad came up with a solution he says he is SURE would stimulate the economy. First, you give 750,000 people over the age of 65 $1 million. HOWEVER, the catch is, these individuals would be required to put a down payment on a house, buy an American-made car, and retire. This way, it would solve the motor vehicle company deficit, it would stimulate the real estate market, and it would open up thousands of new jobs. All while pumping millions of dollars into the American economy. Obviously, there are a couple ethical issues involved with this idea, but I didn’t want to object to his fantasy!
