The Nationalization of America

If we are going to nationalize America, how should we do it?

Case study: If America is going to own the majority of the stock in AIG, America should manage AIG to maximize the wealth of taxpayers as well as the shareholders.

How should that happen?

First, focus on work. In other words, hire workers. The taxes on the earnings of these workers would support hiring more workers. The productivity of these new workers will provide goods and services, which when taxed, will increase the dollars available to support government as well as AIG.

Second, incentivize those workers to own their own company. In other words, give the equity in AIG back to the workers.

Third, identify what should be free. In other words, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness should be free. Entitlements should not be free. Eliminate all entitlements. For example, health care should be incentivized. How? Workers should pay for their own health insurance. How? HSA accounts is one idea to support the concept of workers being responsible to pay for their own health care. An HSA kind of plan builds a savings type of retirement account that would build up a capital base to support consumer driven health care. Preventative health care benefits should be provided for by AIG only when monies are available from investments by the HSA plan, or from investments resulting from increased profits and productivity at AIG, as funds become available.

In summary, the plan of the nationalization of America should:

First - Hire workers.

Second - Give the equity in the companies back to the workers.

Third - Provide entitlements only from excesses.

Something is way off kilter, when I see those corporations who are being given money (being nationalized) laying off workers. The reverse should be happening. If we are going to be giving money away to companies like AIG, BAC, Merrill, Citicorp, GM, etc., etc., etc., that money should be going first and foremost to workers. Instead, these companies are laying off workers, protecting their own self-interests; or preparing to support entitlements; or they are trying to maximize their own shareholder wealth. This makes no sense. That money should be going to hire workers; those workers should be given equity in their respective companies; and all entitlements should be eliminated until there are excesses in production. The word excesses meaning that something has been set aside for a rainy day.

It feels like a lot of the taxpayer money that is being used in this economic recovery, which is essentially nationalizing America, is being wasted.