In today’s OpEdNews (November 23rd), Mary Bell Lockhart came up with “A Principled Solution for the Deficit and Recession”. It was simple and to the point. She writes:

“Guiding Principle: Those who caused and profited from the deficit and recession should pay back the money they’ve taken from the American people.

“Four Revenue Solutions:

1) Raise the highest bracket income tax back where it was before Reaganomics trickled down on the rest of us.

2) Raise the capital gains tax on speculative investment income. Tax earnings from speculation at least as high as earnings from labor.

3) Keep the inheritance tax.

4) Raise the cap on income subject to Social Security withholding.

Four Spending Solutions:

1) Cut defense spending, especially contracts.

2) Cut subsidies for big oil and unnecessary farm subsidies.

3) Establish a public plan option in health insurance to lower health care costs.

4) Invest in jobs (now!) To grow the economy by adding taxpayers.

Could anything be more principled? Ms. Lockhart is saying everything that sensible Americans have been saying for the last half-dozen years. What she’s not telling us, however – and what no one else has been able to tell us – is how to create those jobs. To her credit, she properly places emphasis on the “jobs (now!)” segment of her advisory, but like everyone else in and out of the administration she’s unable to come up with a way to create those jobs.

Remember two things: first, we need something in the neighborhood of 40-50 million full-time, productive, and high-paying jobs, and secondly, this nation faced this crisis once before. Fortunately (?) though, we knew in advance that the solution to our unemployment problems during the Great Depression would be the Great War that was in the works. All FDR had to do, therefore, was to sign an Executive Order to revitalize the nation’s shipyards – and presto! – joblessness was a thing of the past. And all Mr. Obama has to do now is wave the same magic wand that FDR waved – the pen that signs an Executive Order that will revitalize shipyards again. [Like she said – “jobs (now!).”]