How to Quickly Get $3000
to Spend on Anything
from the Government
(My Alternate
Economic Stimulus Proposal)

My mission at IntenseExperiences.com is to help people become happier and more successful by immersing themselves in new, profound and transformative experiences.

So forgive me for stepping out of that role here for a moment and entering the political fray.

On the other hand, it would really be an intense experience if our government started listening to “the people” more closely, and lobbyists and special interests less, which the new Obama administration shows promise of doing.

So maybe this is quite relevant after all. In fact, if the following makes even some sense to you, would you PLEASE forward it on to everyone you know; if the law of six degrees of separation is true, that means this will quickly end up being read (and hopefully considered) by key legislators, Senators, even President Obama.

Do You Trust Them or Yourself More?

I would like to propose a different stimulus plan – a different approach to spending $800 billion to stimulate the economy - than the one (or really two) being decided on right now. I will bet I am not the first who thought of this, and this has some shades of the tax credits Obama referenced in his campaign and even credits in the previous administration, but either way what I really care about is getting it out there. So here it is:

1) Give every American adult $3000. In cash or as credit to spend. As there are about 250 million American adults, that amounts to $750 billion. (We can cover administrative costs and dire emergency federal costs with the remaining $50 billion.)

2) Perhaps the government can’t mandate that everyone spend their $3000 versus save it. BUT I am pretty darned sure that if put to an emergency vote, the American people would prefer to be told they have to spend their $3000 versus wanting the government, corporations, etc. to have to spend it for them, as is the current plan. (What exactly have banks spent their $700 billion bailout money on, and what exactly has it done so far?)

3) Even if each adult spending (versus saving) their $3000 quickly cannot be mandated, it can be strongly encouraged by President Obama, who has a high approval rating and a lot of people fervently following him. He should ask the American people to spend their $3000 on something they need or want but have been holding off on ... and as soon as possible after they receive it.

Need a down payment on a car? $3000 is a darned good one … and watch what it does for the auto industry times tens to hundreds of thousands of people in a short period of time. Need a trip to relieve the stress of this economy? Some repairs around the house? Dental work?

Watch what all of this money being spent in a short period of time does for the economy, including jobs!

The Problem ... Simplified

How is it that any other form of economic stimulus could compare to this influx of consumer money going to buy things within a short period of time?

Nothing is ever 100% guaranteed, but how can any other form of economic stimulus come close to the positive impact this would have on our economy?

(Again by way of example, exactly what has the recent previous bailout, the $700 billion handed to the banking industry, not the people, done to help the situation?)

In super simplified terms, here is the economic problem today:

A) People are very afraid. If they haven’t already lost their job or had a cut in their income, they are afraid it will happen soon. So they are trying not to spend money (if they can even keep up with their bills in the first place.)

B) When people don’t spend money, sales drop … and manufacturing, services and all that supports sales disappears. And so jobs are lost, and companies go out of business.

C) With such instability – individuals and companies at such high risk – banks are afraid to extend credit, to loan money. After all, the people and companies may not be able to pay it back.

D) Without credit being extended, people are even more afraid to spend money (if they can even keep up with bills in the first place.) And companies can’t cover costs. And new businesses cannot be started up. And more jobs are lost, and so on.

The Golden Wrench

It can be a vicious cycle downhill. Somewhere a golden wrench needs to be thrown in to stop the cycle and turn things around.

Unless the banks are made to extend credit regardless of risk – but isn’t that what got us into this mess? – they’re not going to do it.

Unless companies and government are prompted to not lay off people and instead hire people, which can take a long time and is fraught with risks today that didn’t exist back in the Great Depression era, they’re not going to do it.

Giving We the People, instead of corporate executives and government officials, the means to do it, and fast, therefore seems quite worthy of serious consideration.

(Of course all the policy wonks will respond how I am being naïve and it’s not that simple; they tend to make things complicated, in large part because they’ve got all those lobbyists and special interests to cater to. The complexity they so love, however, only exacerbates the problem and prevents the solution. Because this really is an emergency situation, commit to keeping it simple!)

I, for one, trust myself and We the People far more than I do government officials and corporate executives to spend my money and revive this economy.

So if you would like to quickly get $3000 from the U.S. government to spend on anything, and help us all in the process, here is what I hope you will do: forward this proposal on to your friends, your family, the media, and government officials. And ask them to forward it on as well.

If they are going to spend $800 billion anyway, at the very least this seems worthy of serious consideration, and quickly. Lest we forget, it’s not "their" money to spend anyway, it’s yours, mine and our children's.