Since the financial market massacre in October 2008 that virtually solidified the election for Mr. Obama to the monthly exiting of professionals young and old to the streets of umemployment alley, the recession has been on the forefront of many of our minds.
Many of us, including myself have friends, family and former colleagues that have seen their unemployment benefits come and pass and still no sign of recovery.
This has forced many of us to dust off our thinking caps and think of ways to help turn this thing around. I even have a few suggestions to throw into that presidential suggestion box. I am only thinking locally. I have yet to form a viable solution to end the global recession but the World Cup won’t hurt efforts.
This is a list of possible options to help gain additional revenue and put more bodies in the workforce to help stimulate growth:
1) Tax Garage Sales and Flea Markets – Do you realize how much untapped revenue there is from your neighbors, the local flea markets in corn field and all those new, used and black market products being pawned off. The recession is helping the flea market and garage sale industry by forcing us to look for cheaper options and how is our government capitalizing…..They are not.
2) Have Goldman Sachs hire the 17.5% that are currently unemployed. I am not suggesting 40 hours a week and full benefits for everyone. Maybe two days a week and partial benefits. Goldman Sachs is a global giant with the power to take down the Transformers and Megan Fox. They need drivers, assistants, assistants to the assistants, caterers, coffee makers, paper shredders, money makers, elevator operators, window cleaners and fiddlers. After a long day of trading, a good fiddler would cheer anyone up.
3) Copenhagan cost the tax payers 68,000 dollars per hour for the president to get eliminated from the Olympics consideration….Let’s think harder before we jump into that discrectionary spending
4) Balance of wealth – This one is a little more challenging but I will try to put it in perspective. Two years ago, the total wealth (property, liquid assets, material assets, building value…) of Morris Country, New Jersey’s second wealthiest county was 62 billion dollars. In that same period, Bill Gates total value was 64 billion dollars. I don’t think this needs further explanation.
5) No television, XBox, Guitar Hero, DVD, and VCR usage for one week. We are becoming defeated and lazy. Let’s force everyone to get off their couch and make change. Find a job, spend time with friends or volunteer. Change the routine around and make a fresh start.
6) Give 10 dollars to someone with the caveat they must spend it. As money gets tight so does our spending habits. If we give the money to charity or another person, they in turn spend it and it will create a spike in consumer spending
7) Less children. Maybe wait a few years. The United States took nearly 65 years to grow from 150 million to 300 million. It will take less than 7 years to grown another 50 million and 20 years to grown another 150 million at projected rates. Overpopulation and less jobs will create issues in education, food, quality of life and overall tensions. Slow down.
8 ) Take a vacation. I know you have been looking for that get away to leave it all behind. Go go go. They are cheap now and there are alternate options. Instead of doing a hotel air package, sublet a place by the beach for a few weeks. There are so many private owners looking to provide housing in many world vacation spots at half the price or more of the hotels.
There we have it, Recruitpoet’s first brain flow of thoughts around curbing the recession.
Thank you for your time and I hope you enjoyed the show.
Now I beckon my first cup of coffee. Until the next time, keep your feet on the ground…wait that was already used. Be proud of who you are!
