The Government Is Not Stimulating--But Stagnating the Economy. by Jane E. Dickerson Let’s be clear about something. Money in America was not sucked off the map by alien forces, it just stopped flowing. Flow is necessary for a healthy economy, but the stimulus packages (along with tax increases) are creating a climate of stagnation that prohibits the flow of money. 
 Stagnation of money is the problem. When money goes directly from the government to a business without flowing through customers, we break flow. When money goes directly to individuals without flowing through businesses, we get a stagnating economy. This report will address the latter. Of course, I understand that only those who are proud to be (or have been) hard-working Americans will get what I’m about to say. Hard-working Americans want jobs. Obvious? Evidently, not so much. Congress doesn’t get it. It is all too likely, they will never understand. But how can they? For winning a political popularity contest we give them fame, fortune, and power--then release them from the programs they create for the rest of us. They have no idea how to run a country; or, in many cases--like the President himself--they have never even run a small business; and, in fact, never even a small town. Their weak attempt to help the unemployed is to give benefits of approximately $300(avg.) per week. They think that will help the economy. It isn’t. It hasn’t. In the big picture, it never will--because there’s no FLOW! It’s simple: When individuals need money--give them jobs. But, you say, there are no jobs and Congress can’t create them. Oh, really? Read on! There would be new jobs, if we let the money directed to the individual flow through a company--where there is mutual agreement to use a WAGE VOUCHER. In fact, it could be a job that the individual negotiates with his dream employer because he has a WAGE VOUCHER in the amount of his unemployment check that would be turned into a Pay-for-Services check. That same $300 would flow from the company to the individual and help them both at the same time. I understand, a $300 unemployment check is not equivalent to 40 hours a week, but 1-2 days a week could make a difference to the individual and to a small business. The hours would be determined by the typical wage for that particular job /or the last hourly rate for that individual--whatever is greatest. The opportunity could be exciting for both employers and employees! It would help the whole economy. There would be flow of money again, from employers to employees. How do I know this can help? I’ve been unemployed before and lived on just $250 a week--on a good week. But, because that $250 came from an actual job (substitue teaching, in my case) it carried with it much more than just dollars. The difference it made in my life was not due to the money, but due to the fact that the job presented me with contacts, opened up new opportunities, and stimulated my creative spirit for new projects of my own. Because I was in the workplace and not outside it: I saw junior high kids still struggling with basic math facts, so I developed a supplemental math course called “Hands of Champions.” I saw the need for children’s books that teach values and morals. Now, you can check out www.laurelwithamoral.com for books I’ve written for kids. When others recognized my ability to work with special ed kids, they encouraged me to apply for a full-time position--something I had never even thought of. It turns out, the fact that I did not have a special education degree was not a factor. Other qualifications were deemed, at that time, to be more important. That $250 I received, for substituting, was not enough to let me live well; but it was sufficient to give me a better future, because it came from a job and not from a government agency. During those years I looked for a job, a $300 WAGE VOUCHER would have provided me another opportunity. I love innovative, creative people and was excited to meet an inventor who ran a small company. I asked him if I might work for him. He took me on a tour of his plant, so that I might understand the “no hiring” policy he had instituted. He pointed out all the people (who represented families) that depended on him. He explained how taxes and increasing insurance premiums were stifling his and other small businesses. If I could have given him a WAGE VOUCHER, perhaps I could have helped his bottom line. WAGE VOUCHERS will give such hope to unemployed workers who could approach companies with more than skills, knowledge, and abilities. An individual could bring the added asset of the VOUCHER that would pay his way for at least a few hours each week. WAGE VOUCHERS would give hope to struggling business owners, as well. Again, I know from experience. I once had my own small company producing videos and infomericals. (Technology was changing so fast, I couldn’t keep up. That’s when I ended up substitute teaching.) If someone would have approached me with a $300 WAGE VOUCHER, I would have thought of a million tasks they might do for me--from simple office tasks to marketing. If I could have 5 people interested in working for me with five $300 WAGE VOUCHERS....you’ll get my entrepreneurial spirit into overdrive thinking of the possibilities. And, understand, I’m now a 65 year old grandma. Think how it could affect those young small business operators that provide over 3 million new jobs to the economy each year. But, alas, Congress uses tax-payer money to help the companies “too big too fail”. They trade deals among themselves and help those people who helped them get where they are--hoping they’ll get to stay. And what do tax-payers get? More disrespect: with more of their money wasted, more taxes, and more fleecing of America. I hope the grass roots people of America will get behind a program of WAGE VOUCHERS so that the American Can-Do Spirit and American innovation can thrive in an economy that FLOWS.