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Jacqueline Laurette Jones is author of Unmasking a Diagnosis: How to get Help for a Confusing Chronic Illness Without Filing for Bankruptcy.

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Thank God for Everyday Blessings

Happy Thanksgiving! In spite of what’s wrong in the world right now, we have much to be thankful for.

We woke up this morning. Many people didn’t.

Most of us have food to eat. More people are going hungry every day in this country and around the world.

Most of us have a roof over our heads. More people in this country are moving into their cars or under bridges every day.

As we give thanks, let’s remember our less fortunate brothers and sisters and help them as much as we can.

If the Lord is willing and the creeks don’t rise, next week I’ll post more suggestions on how to alleviate the suffering in part 3 of “Economic Recovery Requires Revolutionary Change.”

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Jacqueline Laurette Jones is author of Unmasking a Diagnosis: How to get Help for a Confusing Chronic Illness Without Filing for Bankruptcy.

Economic Health Requires Revolutionary Change (Part 2)

A new type of pollution is making the air unfit to breathe these days. Carbon-based fuel is no longer our biggest problem. Fear mixed with hate-filled language aimed at the people around us has turned into a toxic mix that is beginning to choke us all.

While everyone seems to be looking for someone else to blame, we’ve forgotten something important. We’ve all contributed to this economic crisis. The results seem like the remake of a bad movie that could have played in ancient times.

The Apostle Paul summed it up clearly in 1 Timothy 6:10: “But if it’s only money these leaders are after, they’ll self-destruct in no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after.” (The Message)

King Solomon, one of the wisest men who ever lived, also spoke the following words that were recorded in Ecclesiastes 5:10 and still apply to our situation today: “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.” (New American Standard Version)

We’ve all bought things we didn’t need, sometimes with money we didn’t have. Now we’ve learned the hard way that life in “Never Never Land” isn’t quite what we expected. Because we were so willing to sacrifice the future to satisfy the desires of the present, we don’t know where to turn for help now that the future is staring us in the face.

Only God has all the answers. Those of us who believe in Him should pray for His forgiveness and direction and for our ability to hear Him clearly. Even if we hear Him, He won’t provide quick or easy solutions. He doesn’t operate that way when we’ve strayed. Like any good parent, He wants to make sure we’ve learned our lesson so we won’t forget what we’ve done wrong.

It’s time to accept that things will not be the same in the near future, if ever. With that fact in mind, let’s try to work together through the next steps.

After my last post, I had planned to suggest solutions to problems in domestic and foreign policy that affect our health. My previous list of short-term solutions proved too ambitious, and what once seemed intermediate now poses a very present danger. With that in mind, please allow me to revisit some issues from last week.

Several new plans are in the works to address the mortgage problem. Sheila Bair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) showed compassion for homeowners and empathy with lenders in the plan she proposed last Friday. Though Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is not in favor of the plan, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has publicly urged him to support it. On Wednesday the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) also announced changes to its Hope for Homeowners program. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., applauded the announcement, but said further steps may be necessary. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac next threw their hats into the ring today, according to Reuters News. Their plan will halt foreclosures from November 26 through January 9, which will give lenders time to rework troubled loans.

No plan has yet been announced to deal with the glut of homes that are already on the market. Until leaders address that problem, credit may still be hard to come by, and the bailout plans under consideration for the auto industry will surely fail.

The bipartisan plan presented in the Senate today by two Democrats and two Republicans would allow automakers to divert the $25 billion that Congress has already allotted them for retooling their plants toward meeting the current crisis. Without retooling, the industry will die because it will fall farther behind foreign automakers who are already reaching the growing market for energy-efficient cars.

Democrats in both houses have demanded that the automakers present a survival plan before they will agree to loan them the additional $25 billion they say is needed to help them get by. Without access to credit, consumers still will not be able to buy the cars that will help automakers generate income to repay the loan.

Automakers say millions of jobs that depend on their survival will be lost if our country’s leaders don’t help them stave off bankruptcy. It’s not fair to penalize hard working people who have no control over any of this mess while we bail out the financial services industry that was at the center of this economic earthquake.

Until someone comes up with a plan to clear excess houses from the market, the automakers are doomed to fail with or without our help. While they develop overdue plans to move toward the future, Congress needs to finish cleaning up the problem that started this whole mess.

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Jacqueline Laurette Jones is author of Unmasking a Diagnosis: How to get Help for a Confusing Chronic Illness Without Filing for Bankruptcy.

Economic Health Requires Revolutionary Change (Part 1)

Corrected 11/19/08

Most people in America understand that radical change is overdue in this country. The votes they cast in the last election signaled this basic understanding. Few people who cast those votes understand how much change is needed to save the U.S. economy and economies around the world.

Low wages don’t leave room in family budgets for health care expenses. Inflexible work schedules and long hours don’t leave time for workers to do what it takes to prevent disease. The resulting chronic illnesses make workers less productive and increase health care costs for employers.

Employers reduce expenses by slashing some jobs, moving others to foreign countries, and cutting work hours for remaining employees. That leaves employees without the means to pay for retraining programs that can prepare them to find better jobs. They stop making payments on second mortgages and credit cards that have helped them live beyond their means.

Unemployed and underemployed workers apply for public assistance as the tax base that pays for the assistance shrinks. People who once supported non-profit agencies that help the needy now seek help from those agencies. The agencies must turn people away.

Next add to the mix students who have borrowed heavily to prepare for jobs that aren’t there and now can’t repay their loans. This leaves lenders reluctant to lend money to anyone. Businesses that depend upon credit lay off more workers or close their doors. Tax revenues decrease even more, which leads government officials to slash budgets and lay off still more workers.

The list of people who have been reduced to buying just necessities, when they can afford them, is growing daily. When we stop buying, people in other countries who grow or manufacture many of the goods we used to buy make less money. They, in turn, purchase fewer products from us.

The country has not faced this many challenges since the American Revolution, says Nouriel Roubini, Associate Professor of Economics at New York University’s Stern School of Business and former adviser to the U.S. Treasury Department.

In a consumer-driven society, there can be no stability on Wall Street without stability on Main Street. In spite of this fact, most of the aid in this economic crisis has been directed toward the financial services industry. The new man in town promised to change all that, and the people voted to let him try.

Reports are circulating that President-elect Obama’s advisers are weighing the political consequences of pushing incremental versus rapid changes. In a democratic society, the people must be willing to come along for the ride, but they will only continue the journey if they see results.

Effective solutions will involve careful planning that addresses short-term, intermediate, and long-term needs. Here are my suggestions for the next phase of the new American Revolution:

Meet again with lenders to develop and enforce a mandatory plan for restructuring mortgages. The new loans should be closer to 30 percent of an applicant’s available income. That was the accepted standard before the housing crisis began. The plan announced earlier this week will allow buyers to pay up to 38 percent of income. It also reduces the lending rate for only five years before it begins to slowly climb again. Both Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and Bruce Marks, head of the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA), have said the new plan is not good enough.

Rewrite new mortgages to include penalties for anyone who abandons a home. Some mortgages include “no recourse” provisions. Many lenders are waiting for a government bailout, and more people are shirking their responsibilities every day. The government can’t continue to reward bad behavior.  City and state officials also need to know how much tax revenue they will have to meet their obligations.

Recognize that we have a housing crisis, not a mortgage crisis. Allan Meltzer, economist and professor of Political Economy at Carnegie Mellon University, says housing prices won’t stop falling and credit won’t ease until the excess supply of homes decreases and the balance sheets at financial institutions stop shrinking. Meltzer proposes a tax credit through the end of next year for those who purchase homes that have already been foreclosed. This move will kick start the slumping construction industry as well.

Merge General Motors with one of the other “big three” automakers, then allow the remaining companies to reorganize under bankruptcy protection. This idea came from both Bill Ackman, CEO of hedge fund management company Pershing Square Capital Management, and Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize winning economist and professor. U.S. automakers aren’t prepared to meet the challenges of today or those of tomorrow. Bankruptcy will force them to develop long-range strategies.

Recognize that we have a service-based economy. Our economy is imploding because we have forgotten a basic principle of good business–find a need and fill it. Low-, medium-, and high-skilled workers are needed in all areas. Craftsmen, accountants, educators, writers and editors, engineers, and people with other transferable skills are essential.

Move displaced workers into similar jobs rebuilding the infrastructure and building a “green economy.” Infrastructure projects can build and repair roads and bridges and expand public transportation. Overlap them with public and private “green” construction projects that rebuild communities affected by disasters. Retrofit buildings that don’t meet energy efficiency standards. By doubling our current rate of recycling, including waste from these construction projects, we could replace almost every job that has been lost this year. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author, and columnist Thomas L. Friedman says “green” projects can employ workers with diverse skills.

Subsidize or give tax credits to organizations that hire displaced workers. Those who move into related positions may even be able to start immediately and train on the job. Workers who have good jobs are less dependent upon government assistance and can afford to stay healthy.

Without changing the policies that created this mess, we will not see the end of the downward spiral or avoid creating another one. My next post will address strategies for making intermediate and long-term changes that address both domestic and foreign policy issues.

The second sentence in the eighth paragraph has been corrected to end with financial services industry instead of businesses. The word occupants has been changed to anyone in the first sentence of the twelfth paragraph.

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Jacqueline Laurette Jones is author of Unmasking a Diagnosis: How to get Help for a Confusing Chronic Illness Without Filing for Bankruptcy.

Universal Care Requires Personal Responsibility

Compassionate people around the world are outraged that the richest country on earth doesn’t use its wealth to provide health services for its own citizens. I join them in celebrating Barack Obama’s victory on Tuesday because he understands that these conditions must change. But as we celebrate, let’s remember that his acceptance speech included a call to personal responsibility.

The United States is the only wealthy industrialized nation that doesn’t provide universal health care for its citizens. Some European countries have replaced government-run plans with programs that combine government and private coverage. Obama’s plan takes the latter approach one step farther. Its focus is preventive care, an essential component of any plan to reduce expenditures for the chronic illnesses that plague our nation.

Preventive care will require us to take responsibility for our own health. This is our duty to the nation and to our families. Neither the government nor private insurers can afford to pay for the results of undisciplined or self-destructive behavior. Our families also need us to help care for them and reduce their need for government assistance.

If we all vow to take charge of our health, we can help rebuild this nation with the strength we gain and the money we save.

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Jacqueline Laurette Jones is author of Unmasking a Diagnosis: How to get Help for a Confusing Chronic Illness Without Filing for Bankruptcy.