What would happen to America's economic status if

[xchrom]

we were to return to things like usary laws, banks only business was to make loans,
Hedges and derivatives were strictly regulated - open books notable.

Tax incentives for jobs created here - tax penalties for shipping a job off.

Would we suffer or gain?

[Spyderama]

1. Elizabeth Warren

The short term might look a little depressing, but the long term effects would be very positive. The sooner we begin this process the better. Put Elizabeth Warren in now!

[xchrom]

2. I love her - but she can't make up for a real lack

Of laws, regulations and rules.

She would be good yes - but there is vacuum, imo.

[southerncrone]

4. Agree, she is a real jewel.

One of the few who give me hope that there are still some real, concerned, honest people involved in our government.

But it seems for every Elizabeth Warren who has been appointed, there are many others who work against our long term interests.

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[Warpy]

3. We'd have to listen to a lot of capitalist and Republican squealing

but the overall effect of all those measures would be to push our system back toward health.

Combine them with a return to the progressive income tax and the reduction of military spending, then our country would be back on the way to real strength.

[Spyderama]

6. Interest Rates

You have added a few excellent points, Warpy! The tax rates and interest rates have become so absurdly skewed to make the millionaires richer and the middle class poorer. There is no reason for the average middle class family to save any cash, even if they have it available, because the interest rates on their money have been shoved down to the basement. Interest rates on credit cards have rushed skyward, however. Although middle class income taxes are low, the taxes on the rich are ridiculously low, particularly when you factor in what rich means today versus what it meant when the highest rate was 91%. Sometimes I am amazed that Wall Street Republicans are not chased down and murdered in the streets by angry mobs!

[southerncrone]

8. Basically, you mean pre-Saint Ronnie.

1981....the beginning of the end of the United States of America.

Orwell didn't miss it by much.

[AnArmyVeteran]

5. I agree. We need to simplify the financial system to eliminate corruption.

There are absolutely no reasons I know of to have such a complex financial system (scam). People are hired, products are made, products are sold, buyers buy products and so on. A staggering 25 percent of our entire economy is in the financial sector. That means that 25 percent of the economy is filled with people who produce absolutely zero tangible products. In my opinion, a migrant farm worker who picks fruit and vegetables we need to exist does more in one day that everyone on Wall Street does in their collective lifetimes. Yes, I know, there has to be some system in place to transfer money from point A to point B, but to have 25 percent of our economy in the financial sector is absolute madness. How many deadbeats can our country support? And a huge majority of that 25 percent are deadbeats.

While the right wing whines about a poor unemployed person getting a few meager dollars to exist on, they say nothing about the 25 percent who effectively do absolutely nothing of any true value for the rest of society. By value, I mean they are not producing anything we need to exist. Try eating a derivative or a credit default swap if you believe that 25 percent actually does produce something you need. Who would you rather know if we had another great depression? A Wall Street banker who believes food is grown in grocery stores, or a migrant farm worker who knows how to create food?

Thirty years ago in order to buy a house you had to prove that the size of your mortgage payment was no more than 25 percent of your take home pay. All we have to do is simplify back to the same rules we had thirty years ago and we could have prevented corrupt white collar thugs on Wall Street and in other parts of the financial world from concocting schemes and scams to steal trillions of dollars.

If I was a crook, I would make a system extremely complicated so only I know what is going on. That's exactly what these white collar criminals did. It's time we got rid of most of them, and like you said, simplify the system to ensure that these criminals can't keep stealing from others.

It's not complicated to do the right and honest thing. But Wall Street and huge banks couldn't care less about doing anything honestly or right. All they care about is doing as little as possible while getting paid massive amounts of money.

[Warren Stupidity]

7. mansion sales would be way down

yachts - in the gutter

porsche - calamity.

[xchrom]

9. Kick in the hope of more conversation. Nt