The Common Sense Fix courtesy of Dave Ramsey

While I wait on pins and needles to find out whether the House is as stupid as the Senate and will pass the still ridiculously expensive, ineffective, pork-laden new bailout bill I have also been taking action. This is from Dave Ramsey, an amazing financial guru whose program on personal finances have helped *I don't know exactly how many but* lots of people get on the path to financial freedom through reduced debt and increased saving. Thank you, Dave...you read my mind.

Read this, and then follow the instructions below and get the message to your representatives. I spent a good portion of the evening last night trying to get through to the Senators, and couldn't because the web pages were slammed. BTW, thanks Congressman Crapo for voting no, kudos on the integrity, and shame on you Senator Craig (but your credibility was already almost nil) for voting yes. I mean, you're not going to be re-elected regardless of what you do, so man up and represent your constituency.

"Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three steps:

Common Sense Plan.

I. INSURANCE

A. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity.

B. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things:
1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage.
a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes.
b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while
working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives.
2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps underperforming executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs.

C. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal.

II. MARK TO MARKET
A. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate.

B. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing.

III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX
A. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing.

B. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down. This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to stand up, speak out, and fix this mess."

Amen, brother. And about the whole helping the rich, it's the rich who employ us! And, frankly, someday I'd like to be rich and have the opportunity to help others more than I currently can (and hire someone to do the laundry...i'll do the cleaning and cooking still, but I'd really like someone else to make an honest living doing my laundry).

"First, read this page (PDF)
Next, copy the info on this page (text file)
Send it to your Senators and representatives by copying and pasting the text in the web form you're sent to.*Note: If their websites are down, that means we're making a difference! Keep refreshing the page until you get through. You can also go through Congress.org, though we don't endorse this site."

Please, guys...we only have a few hours to try to get them to see reason. And if you want to read more about Dave Ramsey's plan, click here for a transcript of his appearance on Glenn Beck.