An open letter to President Obama

Dear Mr. President--

During the current economic crisis I'm sure you're hearing the words "stimulus package" yet again, and I'm sure over the coming months you will be hearing these words more and more often from your advisors, the news media, and various pundits and experts.

I am no expert. I'm just a middle-class guy trying to make ends meet in these really trying times. But, while I'm no genius, I do have an idea and some advice regarding any future stimulus packages.

While previous packages have worked somewhat, they have fallen short of expectations. Here's why: the stimulus money went to the wrong people. Big corporations--banks, mostly--took the money and sat on it. In the mean time they jack up their fees on their customers and refuse to issue loans to small businesses and individuals. The "toxic" assets they have cluttering up their books are still on their books, so they still have a large accounts receivable. Plus they have the money they were given during the stimulus. In short, this doesn't help anyone but the banks.

My proposal--and I admit this is not original with me, and also that there are certainly problems with it that I'm not aware of--is that you urge Congress to approve another stimulus package, as large as the previous ones, and instead of sending that money to sit in the acccounts of another huge corporation, that it be paid to the citizens directly.

What I suggest is something similar to what the previous administration did, except they didn't go far enough. I propose that this time a payment be made to as many middle-class tax-payers as possible of $100,000 each.

I know this sounds crazy, but think about it. For example, what I would do with mine: I'd pay off my debts. Meaning the banks would get the money anyway, but they would have to credit my account, eliminating a portion of their accounts receivable. I'd use the remainder to pay for a new vehicle, since my truck is getting old and starting to fall apart. Since my monthly debt burden will be reduced to nothing I'd be able to increase my investment into my 401K for my retirement.

Multiply this by several million taxpayers doing the same thing, and what do you have? Banks who are flush with cash but with a diminished accounts receiveable. What would they do with that money? Make it available to individuals and small businesses as loans. They would have no choice.

It would, in effect, trigger an economic reboot, which is what we need. It would put the power of our economy back into our hands, instead of in  the hands of the huge corporations who will basically take any money paid to them directly and sit on it, just like they did before.

There will be those who will say this would lead to a catastrophe. As I've stated, I'm not an expert. I'm sure there are consequences to this that I haven't considered. But I would also urge you to look at the nay-sayers and think about who they truly speak for.

This is just a modest proposal, and I'm sure it's totally impractical, but I do think it's worth considering. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely

J Franklin Evans