A Recipe for a Rational Strategy for Economic Recovery (Satirical Polemic) by Edwin Young

A Recipe for a Rational Strategy for Economic Recovery: A Financial Farce
by Edwin Young

Since the Congress, under Bush, passed the War Powers Act [i], and since the US is in a state of Declared War, the Executive Branch has, under the War Powers Act, the right to mandate temporary changes in employment policies in all national corporations in order to cope with the demands of executing a war. Therefore, the President should lay out the following demands for the next two years. Nationwide, the workweek must be reduced to four days a week. Overtime should cease.

The workday must be extended from eight to ten for one day of the week on alternate days, resulting in hours per week reduced from forty to thirty-six. There would be an immediate 10% reduction in work hours per week, in theory, a 10% reduction in the national workforce. Corporations and small businesses who had laid off workers, workers who are now on Unemployment Compensation[ii], must rehire those workers on this new work schedule. Following the policy would mean the 10% unemployed could be reemployed.

This would also mean a reduction in traffic congestion in the cities with the largest number of employed persons and thus a reduction in gasoline consumption and emissions.

When the current 10% are reemployed, the cost of Unemployment Compensation is eliminated and simultaneously the national income rises by 10% (+/- a few %s) meaning a net gain of 20% (+/- a few %s) for the national economy*. Also as a result, income tax revenues increase. In addition, if the Bush tax cuts are rescinded as recommended under the Obama Tax Plan, the national deficit begins to be dramatically reduced and budgets for essential social programs would not have to be cut.


With the economy returning to the pre G. W. Bush era, the Obama administration gradually could begin to retire the national debt.

Of course, since we live in country with a Free Enterprise form of government, and not a Democracy, the Corprocrats would not allow this to happen.

A bit of Gallows humor is in order now. To begin the process of returning to a Democracy from a Corprotocracy, one of the first steps would be to shut down the Fox TV Network on the basis that it is a Rightwing Republican Broadcast Station and not a Station serving the interest of the general public. The next step would be to order the execution of CNBC’s Larry Kudlow and make the day of his execution a National Holiday, symbolizing the time when America’s economic sector began to return to sanity!

This would surely be a case of Presidential “sartor resartus.” (Latin translation: the tailor tailored. The phrase has been used to express the satire of giving people (i.e. Bush) a ‘legitimate ’taste of his own nasty medicine.)

Perhaps I can be forgiven for not being an economist while executing this thought experiment?



Author bio:

Edwin is a 76 year old, retired, psychotherapist/institution reformer. His greatest satisfaction came from reforming many juvenile correctional institutions, a maximum security prison, a West Texas mental hospital, and the huge Job Corps in San Marcos, Texas. All in all there were thirteen institutions that he successfully reformed. In the last year of his PhD program, Edwin was one of the two PhD graduate students to be awarded the annual University Research Institute grant. His dissertation committee said his was the longest, best, and most complex in the history of the department. Since retiring, Edwin spends his time writing. His site is: The Natural Systems Institute.