Now this is a good idea. We would have more money to support ower favorite charity and the like. lets all push for this one.

Posted by James Black on 11/26/2008 @ 11:43AM PST

Hi Trina,

I think your idea is brilliant!

And, with the "current financial crisis" it would be a welcomed relief on Main Street.

I have forwarded it on to others that your idea may help. When you think about it a stong economy is national security.

James it is good to see your post. Charities are always are affected hardest during times like these.

Peace and prosperity,

Gwyn

Posted by Gwyn Walker Chambers on 11/26/2008 @ 11:54AM PST

Hey Trina, sounds like a good idea to me. Imagine these CEO's got paid more money then I will ever make in my lifetime to make these mistakes. I agree comsumers should get a second chance to, my debt is alot less then theirs. It makes you feel like its OK to mess up at work because you may get rewarded...yea right.

Posted by anthony evanoski on 11/26/2008 @ 01:26PM PST

I think Debt Amnesty is a great idea to help stimulate the economy. If our tax dollars can be used to bailout companies who have unwisely used our dollars, then why not allow an amnesty of debt for the taxpayers.  We the taxpayer, should have relief too, a second chance at recovering our debt. I agree that this is a great idea.

Posted by Evelyn Brown on 11/26/2008 @ 04:47PM PST

I feel that debt amnesty would be a good way to stimulate the economy.  Allow consumers who cannot afford to get out of debt to have their debts written off.  Give them a second chance to start over new. We the people / our govt. can bailout out big businesses, then why can't the  Taxpayers be given a chance to start all over again too.  This is a good thing to help get our economy get back on the right track.

Posted by Evelyn Brown on 11/26/2008 @ 05:17PM PST

An interesting idea.  Your income cap seems low, though - a lot of families making well over $100k are under crushing debts.

Posted by Anthony Citrano on 11/29/2008 @ 11:45PM PST

I think Debt Amnesty is by far, the greatest idea that anyone could have come up with for helping the economy. It is a "Win-Win" setup. Both the government and the people would win. As already indicated, that in itself, would be a great economic stimulus package and relief for all.

Posted by Edward Milligan on 12/01/2008 @ 05:19PM PST

Great idea!

Posted by Laura Carter on 12/02/2008 @ 06:05AM PST

Trina, your suggestion solves real problems for real people.

The reason so many people are in debt, and the reason the US government is in debt, goes back to the banking system, especially the fractional reserve policy which effectively allows banks to create money out of thin air, reducing the value of each dollar that already exists. For a good detailed explanation, check out the movie Zeitgeist Addendum which can be viewed free at http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com

Posted by Gabriel Dayan on 12/02/2008 @ 07:29AM PST

Sounds like a great idea to me.  It seems a shame to keep pouring billions into those black holes and then months later they are right back with their tin cups begging for more.  After flying in on $20,000 jet trips and analyising all of this at a plush spa somewhere.  Did they ever hear of Holiday Inn or driving one of the high-priced autos.  (They seem to be doing that one this time.)  How many and how much gas to get there?? 

Posted by Sara Blow on 12/02/2008 @ 07:30AM PST

This is a good idea.

Posted by Wendy Krick on 12/02/2008 @ 08:40AM PST

I am not sure this will solve anything long term.  We all have incurred debts of our own free wills.  We also have remedies available to us to absolve ourselves of most of this indebtedness.  Unpalatable but an amnesty you can rebuild from.  This thinking of privatizing profits and socializing losses is not the way to secure our future generations any prosperity.

We played the game and now it is up to us to pay for playing and losing.  Those culpable and guilty of wrong doing should not be rewarded and neither should those of us that signed the dotted line when we incurred and misused our credit worthiness. 
It is unfortunate but sometimes the medicine tastes bad that can cure the ills.

Posted by Kcender A on 12/02/2008 @ 08:58AM PST

Yes, we have inccurred debt of our own free will; however, at the time most of us created our debt, we were in a position to pay it back. The problem lies with the high dollar earners in the banking system that drove the economy into the toilet. People lost jobs and became unable to afford what they once could pay. The credit industry mismanaged funds, the CEOs refuse to take paycuts to save their companies, and our tax dollars have gone to bail them out. I think that turnabout is fair play. American's who are struggling should get the same clean slate that we have given the corporations that caused this problem. They've gotten our tax dollars yet they still are putting the squeeze on us by jacking interest rates, charging ridiculous fees, etc... Allowing banks to have more money to lend doesn't do the average person squat, because their credit is in the toilet because of this mess. Forgiving debts so that they can actually spend money is what is needed to stimulate the economy, not making money available so that the bankers get richer and the people go further into debt.

Posted by Trina Sonnenberg on 12/02/2008 @ 11:20AM PST

I think this is a great idea.  It would certainly help me and quite a few other people I know.  The jobs market where I live has dried up  and my son can't find work, and the government is taking forever about getting my disability processed.  We're hurting badly!

Posted by Kat Reece on 12/02/2008 @ 11:31AM PST

How does this idea create jobs, or addresses the core problems that have occurred and created this economy?

Posted by Kcender A on 12/02/2008 @ 12:09PM PST

For example: If people could afford to fix up their homes, those who do the fixing would have work. It may not create a bunch of new jobs, but if people start spending money again, more people won't face losing their jobs; eg: service industry workers, retail workers, etc.. My idea is for economic stimulation, not necessarily job creation. That is a separate issue.

People are losing everything they've spent their lives working for, while the corporate fat cats get free money from those same people. It's not fair and it is not stimulating the economy over all. It is the rich getting richer, and the poor becoming homeless, jobless, and hungry. If people could afford to buy cars, the auto industry would be happy, and those workers wouldn't get laid off.

Posted by Trina Sonnenberg on 12/02/2008 @ 12:25PM PST

So you want to protect those $70 an hour jobs?  You have to have a way to replace that money you want to spend fixing up your home and enriching yourself with.  We agree that there are inequities and hopefully those responsible will pay for their crimes.  But your solution does nothing more than add the the general indebtedness of this nation without offering a solution to the crisis or its cause.

Posted by Kcender A on 12/02/2008 @ 12:42PM PST

So you want to protect those $70 an hour jobs?  You have to have a way to replace that money you want to spend fixing up your home and enriching yourself with.  We agree that there are inequities and hopefully those responsible will pay for their crimes.  But your solution does nothing more than add the the general indebtedness of this nation without offering a solution to the crisis or its cause.

Posted by Kcender A on 12/02/2008 @ 12:42PM PST

Those people in the auto factories do NOT make $70/hr. That is propoganda. If you took their hourly wage and added in their benefits it comes to an average of $28/hr. There is not an assembly line worker in this country who makes $70/hr. However, the GM CEO made $22 million last year, with a bonus of $15.4 million. The NY Times made that statement [$70/hr] and retracted it the very next day, after it made headline news on the tube. I don't know where you got your information from on the wages of auto workers, but it is flat out false.

Posted by Trina Sonnenberg on 12/02/2008 @ 12:54PM PST

My plan will not contribute to any national indebtedness. We already gave money to the banks, they are solvent. Now they can write off the debts of the people who paid those taxes, everyone breaks even. Why should they get $700 BILLION dollars while the rest of the nation loses their homes?

I'm not here to debate this issue with you. If you don't agree with my idea, then don't vote for it. It is that simple.

Posted by Trina Sonnenberg on 12/02/2008 @ 12:58PM PST

Are you people serious?  What about the people who work for all those credit card companies? So those people should lose their jobs so everyone can keep all the goodies they bought on their credit cards? Its called personal responsibility. This is a terrible idea. We all want a Christmas Tree but can we be more realistic and think about the lower and middle class people a plan like this would hurt.  They will be paying for this "great" idea as the rich, currently scrambling from this economic collapse will place the burden back on the working class.

Posted by W S on 12/02/2008 @ 04:41PM PST

You missed the whole point. The credit card companies just got billions of dollars; they are solvent. Those who work for them have jobs. It the rest of the 95% of American's who are hurting right now, and those people, hourly employees, would probably qualify for the amnesty themselves. How many hourly employees do you think make more than $75K per year? My guess... not any. The point is that with or without our monthly payments which most of us can no longer make due to things like unemployment, they will still be solvent. They just got a huge Christmas present, at our expense. They have money, operating capital. It's the rest of us who don't.

Posted by Trina Sonnenberg on 12/02/2008 @ 05:06PM PST

What a great idea!! It would be wonderful if the low and middle classes would be able to do this as we are the ones being hurt by this recession. It seems like the upper class and big business always seem to get the breaks.  It sure would be nice if we got one. 

Posted by Pam Bozio on 12/02/2008 @ 05:18PM PST

I like it.  Money in our pockets.  We able to spend and help the economy.  Hmmm...the price of gas goes to high we all stop spending money. Interesting how the gas prices have come down.

Posted by Nick Schultz on 12/03/2008 @ 02:19AM PST

Hi Trina
            When they first announced the $700 Billion bailout, my
    work place (four guys) think like you we figured that money would stimulate the economy if it where evenly divide among the people they would do as you have suggested. I was always taught you build or rebuild from the bottom up. In this case the top is being temporarily fixed if that while the foundation continues to weaken. I thank you for putting this forth our vocies need to be heard. 

Posted by Lee Martin on 12/03/2008 @ 03:22PM PST

Thank you Lee.

This is my story in short: My husband is a self employed contractor. We have a debt load, like everyone else in this country, but one we could carry. That is, until the housing market got flushed down the toilet. My husband has been out of work because no one is building, or remodeling. Now we can no longer handle our debt. My mortgage holder was one of those banks bailed out: Citi Corp., but they started a foreclosure battle with me and refuse to work with me on a payment schedule. I've been told to stop looking for a hand-out, while attempting to make a partial payment. Apparently, they won't accept a partial payment. At least that's what I've been told by them.

It disturbs me immensely that they just got a $25 billion check from the government coffers, and they treat me like a piece of trash. If they're treating me like garbage, you know they're doing it to a lot of other people too. I know I'm not the only one going through this type of thing; I also know that it is time it stopped.

The problem, as I see it, is that the banking industry screwed up and lost their investors' money. The government has just rewarded them for their greedy incompetience by bailing them out the way they have, while the average person is still hurting. Make the banking industry pay for its crimes against the American people by mandating that they write off all our debts owed to them. It is fair. It is justice.

Posted by Trina Sonnenberg on 12/03/2008 @ 04:16PM PST

My Dear Trina!
Wow....I absolutely couldn't agree with you more!! There isn't much more that I can say that others have already posted!! I whole heartily agree with all of them!!  I am sick of the rich getting richer!! It's about time the government does something for us "Little Guys"!!

You have an incredible way with words!! You said my sentiments EXACTLY!!!  I am going to send this to all my teacher friends at school! I told them some of them about your idea and they loved it!! Naturally, as teachers, we're one of the lowest paying civil servants on the planet!!

All my best,
Debbie :)

Posted by Debbie Dolan on 12/03/2008 @ 08:38PM PST

I voiced this idea to my husband at the onset of the housing forclosures.   You are right, Trina!

Saandy  Morgan

Posted by Sandy Morgan on 12/14/2008 @ 09:06AM PST

Trina, you are so right, why not help the working class instead of bailing out the upper classes. I sincerly hope you get enough votes to get to the top three. Arne

Posted by Arne Arneson on 12/14/2008 @ 10:20AM PST

I'm not a US taxpayer, but I feel this idea would be a slap in the face to those people who manage their debts. Why should taxpayers at one level (those with salaries over $75,000) pay for the bad debt management of others ... presumably millions.

I doubt whether even the US Government could afford such an initiative.

What you say is true about the conditions changing dramatically between when people incurred debt and now when they are paying some of it back. I'd go for a more economically responsible approach, perhaps by reducing mortgage and credit card interest rates dramatically for the next five years on existing debt only.

There are other things that could be done rather than simply just hand out money.

Interestingly, the Australian Government has done just that. Almost everyone on our welfare system (and there are millions, even in our small population of 21 million) has received $1400 for individuals, and additional $1000 for each child, but unemployed people on the dole missed out as did self-funded retirees like me.

The surplus created by our previous Liberal Goverment is being squandered by the new Labor Government in order to gain popularity and hopefully boost spending and help retain jobs.

Posted by Robin Henry on 12/14/2008 @ 01:15PM PST

You have really come up with a great idea!  I am a single-parent who has now had to struggle to make things work on one income rather than two.  I fortunately own a house, but it is not "worth" what I owe anymore so there is no help out there for me...this plan is wonderful on so many levels!  My only suggestion would be to give amnesty to only those people who are attempting to make the payments and not the ones who clearly were abusing the system in the first place.  Like someone said earlier...we should not reward those who are acting with criminal intent.  I love this idea and will encourage others to vote on it...THANK YOU!

Posted by Katie Audiss on 12/14/2008 @ 03:46PM PST

Robin, So it is perfectly fine for our government to give hundreds of billions of tax payer dollars to the corporations that created this mess, but not to the tax payers themselves? How is that fair?

Posted by Trina Sonnenberg on 12/14/2008 @ 04:32PM PST

The keyword here is taxpayers.  We are all taxpayers, we pay into the same pool.  We taxpayers did nothing wrong, other than to allow it to happen.  Those that are supposedly receiving TARP funds, have misused those funds supported by Paulson, Bernanke, Pelosi, Reid, Franks and Bush.  The same ones that said nothing was wrong with Fannie and Freddie.  There is something deep and criminal here.  I don't believe it is right to dip into that same dirty pot.

We should demand justice and a true accounting of exactly what this crisis was, where the money went, who did it go to and for what?  Paulson scared the hell out of congress and the president, over how dire this situation became seemingly overnight.  Something very wrong going on.

We should pull together and demand fairness and justice.  But asking for debt amnesty is the same as bankruptcy.  You can do that at anytime.

Posted by Kcender A on 12/14/2008 @ 08:09PM PST

Let's see ....

1) give billions to all the rich, greedy thieves

2) relieve all the debt for folks earning less than $75,000

3) and simply leave the burden to everyone that has worked hard all their life, have two incomes, earn a combined $100K, have 3 children in college, live in California, have depleted all their savings while their home values have dropped over 30% and are already on the verge of bankruptcy, foreclosure and breaking their children's hearts by having to take them out of college ....

Hopefully Barrack will find solutions that are fair for ALL Americans.

Just my two cents worth ... but I would have to borrow the two cents.

Posted by Paul Upp on 12/15/2008 @ 09:14AM PST

I think it should go one step further and include student loans-
I have a student loan that was originally $5000.00 and is now a whopping $30,000.00 because the Feds lost all paperwork after sending it to them 3 times-I had to leave college-
I say, forgive the interest on the student loans-

As far as the previous comment above about the $100,000.00 a year combined income-California is a very expensive place to live-I am sorry for your losses-

However I believe that the idea is great-If it doesn't fit for you, remember, you are considered a rich person if you earn $250,000.00 a year under Barrack-

No offense, but I really wouldn't expect much from Barrack in this arena...he has his hands full of a lot of other things, like IRAQ, AFGANISTAN, the financial crisis, automakers and of course the crazy idiots losing all of our money on Wall Street...

I think you should come up with a figure that would help you, Paul and share it with us! This is a friendly forum-
What would you propose? What would a better figure be that would really help you?  :D-
SR

Posted by S. R. on 12/15/2008 @ 10:55AM PST

I agree with student loans too. I just used mortgages and credit cards as an example, but I did say, all debt. The student loan program has always been the biggest rip-off going.

By bailing out the corporations like this, we have been duped into creating welfare for the rich, while the poor still have to stand in line at the food bank.

Posted by Trina Sonnenberg on 12/15/2008 @ 11:06AM PST

S.R.  I am not proposing a specific dollar amount because I am not interested in a solution that I only support because it is good for me. I am looking for solutions for ALL Americans.

I do not support providing thousands of dollars of relief to a specific class of people (ie. all folks under $75,000).

I would support relief in the form of a tax credit based on a sliding scale. Or better yet a one time credit based on a percentage of income.

For example a 25% credit would provide $10,000 debt relief for a family making $40,000, $20,000 debt relief for someone earning $80,000 and $30,000 relief for a family earning $120,000.

Perhaps you would limit it to families with a combined income of less than $250,000.

I am looking for something that is fair and equitable for all. Not an arbitrary solution for a limited segment of the population.

The good news is that I checked my sofa and found the two cents.

Paul

Posted by Paul Upp on 12/15/2008 @ 03:09PM PST

Trina, I agree with your point on the greedy pigs in the banking industry.

Instead of bailing them out I would rather see us simply replace them.

I would rather have a mortgage directly with my fellow taxpayers and pay them a fair 4.5% interest on my mortgage rather than give it to the jerks that will not help you or I restructure our payments.

This way the taxpayers could get a fair annual return on the $700B bailout and the bamks get exactly what they deserve ... bankruptcy.

Paul

Posted by Paul Upp on 12/15/2008 @ 03:15PM PST

It's too late for that, Paul. They've already cashed the checks. Since we bailed them out, they should be made to bail us out and write off our debts. They were supposed to make loans to small businesses and now that their greedy palms have been crossed with greenbacks, they refuse to give credit; businesses are closing and more people are being put out of work and into the position of not being able to pay their bills.

Posted by Trina Sonnenberg on 12/15/2008 @ 03:47PM PST

$300B of the $700B has been distributed to the thieves.

Unfortunately there is no way that Congress is going to let them take a massive write down of everyone's debt. Congress needs to continue to play the game that we are going to see some eventual payoff from the 1st phase of their cash infusion.

What we need is for someone to wake up and realize that none of this money is going to make it to the homeowners. The only way to resuscitate the housing market is to pump the money directly to the home owners and buyers and bypass the crooked bankers.

Unfortunately we have the wrong jockey riding the horse ... at least for another 36 days.

Posted by Paul Upp on 12/15/2008 @ 05:51PM PST

Real people drowning in every kind of debt, not corporations, need debt relief to stimulate this economy again.  Where's the "bottom up" formula/solutions?  Tina, this would be a start, and YES, student loan debt is killing many of us...actually, death is the only option these days for forgiveness for most debtors. 

Posted by kathryn vanskiloff on 12/22/2008 @ 04:41PM PST

I like this idea, but I'm not sure how to vote for it!
:) D

Posted by Dolores Wyman on 12/23/2008 @ 02:28PM PST

Several people have asked how to vote on this topic. All you need to do is click on the little box at the top left of the page that has the number of votes listed in it. (Next to the idea title) Once you have voted, the blue box becomes brown.

Posted by Trina Sonnenberg on 12/24/2008 @ 06:02AM PST

Great idea. But like many ideas needs a little work. Can't just give money to everyone under the cap as many are there due to fault of thier own and would prefer to do what they can to never get a job or pay for thier own debt. But there are many families who try and try and can never go "up". My family's income is under $25000/yr as is MANY americans. I will never be able to pay off my accumulated medical bills and other debt. It's not always about being "lazy and not trying". I've done everything I can for my family for 8 years and have never moved a step up. Why should huge companies get free money for money they threw away but not help people who have done the best they can? The idea itself is a great idea. Hopefully there is a way to make it work for everyone who would deserve it.

Posted by Nicole Bridges on 12/30/2008 @ 12:45PM PST

I think this is a pretty bad idea.  First, even though it has great intentions, will be abused and will only serve to perpetuate the poor behavior that got us into this mess.  Since there is no way to police everyone, those who are irresponsible will only go and blow the savings rather than reducing debt, further skewing the economy towards useless consumerism and creating more debt.

Moreover, the macroeconomic impications of all of these write-offs on top of the $500+ billion we have currently (as of dec 30) flooded into the monetary system will produce massive shockwaves that can be felt through every facet of our fiancial system, from inflation, to misappropriated investments, to disguised tax incomes, and many others.  A better idea would be to freeze the debt and allow payments to go towards principle reduction rather than interest.

On top of that, I practice financial stwardship and have not taken on any debt which I cannot afford.  I have sacrificed daily to make sure that I remain financially solvent and can provide for my own future.  I have worked diligently to pay off my debt and will receive nothing for my hard work, except more debt.  I do not want to pay for the bad habits of other people, but I am more inclined to bail-out my fellow brothers and sisters than I am to bail out our employers (corporations).  This breeds bad behavior, which is further solicited by the corporatocracy.  It makes it OK to go out and charge off whatever you want and then defaut on the bill.

We need real economic reform.  This just perpetuates the same model.

Posted by Matthew Wilhelm on 12/30/2008 @ 01:40PM PST

Wow-All I can say is Wow to the last post-
I am glad that someone has never had to endure the slavery of debt and is a good steward of their money. I admire you.
You see, my family never allowed me to have money or taught me how to manage it, to pay bills, to keep a checkbook or anything.
I left the house with nothing-and I have a lot of debt trying to get an education to get out of debt. Somehow that all seems wrong, especially when my life was not the perfect life.
Seems that I had to really struggle just to stay alive throughout most of my personal life experience. There was never anyone who gave me an inheritance or set me up with family friends in a good job, I never got married to the right guy or had any family support of any kind whatsoever.

Granted, anyone can overcome their circumstances...
I am trying-

However, in the meantime, I believe that I deserve an opportunity to get out of debt or have a reasonable way out of my debt if I cannot ever make enough money to pay all of it-

That was the original bankruptcy, but thanks to the credit card companies, that was an option that too many irresponsible people opted for...and folks that needed to file that can't afford the filing fees, well...we just sat by-now, there is no clean slate or opportunity to get a break...

You see, sometimes bad things happen to good people and sometimes bad things can happen to good people more than one time...

I am a good steward with my money, faithful to tithe and to give of what I have...and believe me, there hasn't been much to be faithful with, but that is a beginning-It is my prayer that I will be debt free when I can actually make enough money to support my family so I can...and that, my friends, is entirely up to Jehova JIREH-

I think I will leave it at that-
Just my two cents-

Posted by S. R. on 12/30/2008 @ 05:33PM PST

P.S. Have a safe and Happy New Year!

Posted by S. R. on 12/30/2008 @ 05:43PM PST

This is a cool idea. It would help a lot of people and stimulate the economy. (I have zero debt and a very low income, so this is not personal.)

Posted by Shodo Spring on 12/30/2008 @ 06:05PM PST

With an average income of WELL under $75,000, there would be far too many people qualified for this bailout to ever successfully support.  There is no way for the government to support such an undertaking.  And simply bailing people out would not necessarily help.  Some people would take advantage of the situation to gain as much as possible from the bailout, robbing honest, responsibly-spending citizens of their tax dollars.  Others would not learn from their initial mistakes and go right back into debt, not changing their lifestyles to solve the source of the problem rather than simply addressing the current balance.  This is an idea doomed to fail.

Posted by Alex K on 12/31/2008 @ 02:26PM PST