Truth in borrowing, lending, and financing

Guidance for all Candidates for President of the United States

Did you know that America’s wealth grows at $16.7 billion per day? And $15 billion of that amount flows to the top 10 percent? Those numbers do not represent liquid cash; rather they are the increase in value of the stocks, bonds, and real estate owned by our wealthiest residents. Those totals are in addition to the $76 trillion already owned by the same people at the top. That wealth comes at an opportunity cost—and that cost is what we give up for what we get.

If those who hold $76 trillion of wealth gave up an additional year’s worth of wealth ($6.09 trillion), they would not feel it at all. How could they? But what could we do with those assets when turned into cash? As an example, in just two years we could reduce our public debt to zero. Think about that! One of the biggest issues voiced by a host of political candidates for President would disappear. I mention that because all those who point to the debt as a crisis do not know how to solve it. Now they have a solution that would hurt no one.

Alternatively, in just one year we could replace all the money that all the administrations starting with Reagan have taken from Social Security and Medicare and make both of those programs solvent indefinitely into the future. There are two more issues that would disappear without pain.

Or, we could make advanced training available to everyone who wants it. That would include 4 years of college, or skills in any trade of the participant’s choosing. Plus we could rebuild our highways, railroads, bridges, dams, power grids, airports, and waterways. Not only would we enhance the skills and knowledge of our workforce, we would also have created essential jobs for all of them. And, there would go two more giant issues that candidates like to complain about but have no solutions for. With these changes commerce would move more efficiently and smoothly, and all businesses would benefit from the improvements.

We all know that poverty spawns many other issues. Among them are crime rates, suicide rates, teen pregnancies, incarceration rates, mental health issues, obesity, life expectancies, and upward mobility. We could virtually eliminate all of them starting with the changes in the preceding paragraph. But we would also need to build stepping stones out of poverty for those who are born into it and cannot help themselves out. $6.09 trillion would finance every program needed to eliminate this blight. The possibilities for improvement are boundless. And of course, virtually all those entitlement programs paid for by tax dollars would soon disappear.

That is a beginning list of the opportunity costs that we forego just to be able to stack another year’s growth onto the wealth heap of those at the top. We might want to save $1 trillion to add to the economy via loans for small business startups and expansions. That amount of money would create $6.5 trillion in new GDP, $5.5 trillion in new personal incomes, 9 million new jobs at $50,000 each, and $2.6 trillion in new tax revenues to all levels of government.

To make all this a reality will require a little soul searching, a reliance on our founding principles (remember “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?”)—and a clean break from all the gibberish that has been cast about thus far in this campaign year.