Open Letter to the U.S. Government

by Monica Morrison
Perhaps if I could afford nice stationery, someone would actually read it.
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Dear America,

I've been reading a lot about investment in alternative energy stalling because of the credit freeze. I also read about the prospect of another stimulus package, and talks about more tax cuts. It's all a bunch of hooey. This letter is going to be short, and to the point, but I need to get something off my chest about all the "problems" all you legislators and shadow-market creators seem to be having with the "economy." Here is my proposal to fix a few of the problems.

1. Remove all Subsidies and Legalize Hemp

America is the richest nation in natural resources, and by subsidizing the most nutrient-poor crops, we have secured a future that includes lots of High Fructose Corn Syrup and vegetable oil-powered automobiles. Restructuring the farm bill in a way that will either subsidize nutritious or environmentally friendly products, or simply remove subsidies from failed industries will have a huge impact on the cost we pay for food. Also, for reasons that are seemingly infinite, we should legalize hemp. Our forefathers used it. We should use it too.

2. Allow Americans to invest a portion of their taxes into alternative energy startups, infastructure investments, or R&D for new energy or biomedical technologies.

Since banks will no longer support these important parts of our economy, why not put the power in the hands of the people? Set up a system where Americans can buy in with the help of the government, and assist in the creation of the new infastructure that will lead us into the 21st century. This way, consensus and common knowledge will have a much larger impact on the things that end up getting financed, and consumers will be able to finance projects that benefit them. There will be no "Bridges to Nowhere" unless those bridges are needed. And, after the initial investment, taxpayers could start to see dividends from the projects they helped launch. I'd rather have the $700 Billion spent this way instead of putting any more trust into a failed system of a free market (Hello, Hank "Goldman Clusterfuck" Paulson '68! [my Dartmouth commencement speaker, for those of you who weren't there]).

The interesting part about this idea is that it makes paying taxes more enticing than stuffing your coffers into a bank vault on the coast of the Cayman Islands. Oh yeah, you should also make all of that offshore tax evasion crap illegal. But you knew that already.

3. Trains, Trains, Trains. Everywhere. In every city. Mag-levs across the nation. Again, let taxpayers buy into it. And let them rake in the profits once everyone starts using them.

That is all.

Love,
Monica