if you were advising the president what would you propose as a stimulus package? short and long term solutions
“Stop fiddling with the markets” would seem like the best advice. Stop trying to control interest rates and money supply in general, remove subsidies and tarrifs and cut back massively on government spending… that would do for the short term.
Long term, the last of these measures will never hold out unless the correct incentives are put in place to disuade overspending by governments. I’d recommend governments pay their employees dividends rather than salaries. If government runs a deficit then government doesn’t get paid (with the first salaries to go being those highest up the ladder… starting with the president’s).
None of this is advice that any government would take of course.
Suspend the illegal raids on busiensses and individuals who use Gold American Eagle and Silver American Eagle coins from the US Mint as currency for transaction at their face value ($50 and $1 repectively). Let businesses and individuals account those transactions at the face values. A person making $50k a year now in Federal Reserve Notes will be making about $2500 in Gold Eagle coins and hence below the income tax threshold entirely. Since less tax will be due, the market demand for federal reserve notes will collapse, making the paper money worth even less. That will automaticly wipe out all the mortgage obligations and national debt as both are denominated in the paper FRN’s. What it will accomplish is a rapid expiration of FRN’s, replaced with new accounting in Gold and Silver Eagle coins . . . IRS will also expire on its own because almost the entire population will be below the reporting threshold. Government employees and subsidy receivers will continue to receive FRN’s, but businesses are free to set different prices for every goods and service in different currencies: in FRN’s, and in Gold/Silver coins; new contracts can be drawn up with specification on the type of currency. All this can be done without any new legislation. The current tax eaters will be peeved as they see the purchasing power of their subsidy checks dwindle, but we may just have enough debtors in this country who will benefit from the evaporation of the real value of their debt to make such a go possible. The current tax eaters will have a strong welfare-to-work incentive as they see their welfare check diminish in purchasing power; and whatever private sector job they find will be very rewarding as the income tax will be effectively repealed due to the low face value falling below income tax threshold. Savers? better make sure you are saving the right kind of currency.
Rockwell’s 30 Day Plan (archived at LewRockwell.com).
Excellent reminder on that 30-day plan of Lew’s. I especially like that opening paragraph on how quickly the USSR disintegrated. Once the economic bankruptcy of the USSR reached the soldier class, as the hapless lads marched back from Afghanistan in tattered and mis-matching clothes, and they refused to shoot the street demonstrators in Moscow, it was all over, in about 15 months. As Lew’s article shows, our current problems are really all the inevitable result of government interventions and regulations. The burgeoning hyperinflation (with POG approaching $1000 and POS closing on $20) will really demoralize the “civil servant” class who have come to count on their fixed income both on the job and in retirement. Dare we hope, all the red tapes will stop working simply because the supposed enforcers would simply walk away from their government jobs 
On the other hand, Blackwater is opening campuses all over the country training more and more people for “law enforcement.” It will be interesting to see to whom they will owe their fealty, and how they will be paid. The struggle between Boris Yeltsin and the Russian Pariament really came down to a single platoon out of a mechanised battalion, as all the rest of the troops refused to fight.
100% reserve banking then abolishment of the central bank.
All of those are good.
But assuming that I would be advising a non-Austrian president in the hopes of later convincing them of the merits of freedom I would propose the elimination of the taxes on Diesel fuel to encourage small competitors in the trucking industry and reduce shipping costs all around and thus passing on some savings to the consumers. When that worked I would say “now about those other taxes…”
Cut taxes, remove the dept of education, agriculture, any health related subisidies, social security. Allow complete free trade, deregulate pratically everyhting..
There is no short term fix. If you have a tumor, you’ve got to cut it out of your body, and that hurts. The government’s interference in the economy is the ultimate cause of the bulk of its problems, and it runs deep and wide-spread. You could do things to make the transition easier, but there would certainly be a shock.
To add to this, sell all government owned property, except for government buildings, legalize market currency, eliminate foreign aid and subsidies, close all International U.S. bases, bring all the troops home, eliminate copyrights and patents, and cap the wages for Congress and the President at $2.00 per year.
I don’t think stimulus is the right word to use. Instead of stimulating, we need to let the market correct itself. If I was in control, I would stop printing dollars immediately, reduce overseas spending drastically (I don’t think completey, but 80% sounds good), increase reserves held by banks,allow the free market rate of interest to find its equilibrium, push for business and consumers to decrease debt and increase savings, push for less consumption of energy, cut government in half, and decrease lawmakers pay to $0. Why $0? That would ensure that those in office would be held 100% accountable to the american people, because they would be working as civil volunteers rather than working for money, benefits, and power. Then all the money that is saved can be used to pay off foreign debts and give back to the American people so they can use it as they see fit.
The best idea I have heard is a modified version of that of Ron Paul:
Super Short Term (Today): Pardon all prisioners convicted of drug possession and distribution of marrijuana. Pardon all prisioners convicted of securities fraud and anti-trust violations. (My idea) Dissolve the American Empire. Immediately stop giving money in economic and military aid to foreign countries. Immediately stop giving money to Super-Governmental and Non-Governmental organizations. Immediatel withdraw US military forces and close all installations in countries, unless they support the current war operations, where the US has been for over 20years. (My idea) This includes but is not limited to Germany, Italy, Belgium and Central America.
Short Term: As quickly as possible withdraw from Iraq and Afganistan and the Baltic. Then close all supporting installations in other countries. Finally withdraw from any other countries where the US has a military presence. (Embassy guards are a separate case for the short term.)
Take all of the money saved and pay off debt. Then release all military folks from their obligations and have them get productive jobs in the economy.
Long Term: Close most Federal Prisions (See super short term.). Get rid of most weapons development. Use the military for DEFENCE not the keeping of empires. Dissolve any alliances we have with other countries. Dissolve corporate welfare, the Import Export Bank, etc. Get rid of the Departments of: Education, Commerce,
Short term: Abolish the Federal Reserve, and allow the market to set interest rates. Repeal legal tender laws and issue an executive order stating that the US mint can only print new bills equivalent to those that are destroyed on a daily basis.
Long term: Work on getting rid of all the sinkholes down which the gov’t throws money every day…which means pretty much every government agency in existence.
To stimulate the economy, I would say to the current president, resign. Just kidding. That would put Dick into office.