Bill Hedrick on the Economy

To get us back on the right track we need serious job growth, real reform of the banking and credit systems, and to stop bleeding jobs from the American economy. The economic agenda for 2010 must be recovery and reinvestment in America. To accomplish this, I propose:

Serious job growth:

• Tax credits for private sector job creation
  
• Tax credits for companies that maintain an American workforce
  
• Reconstruction of our infrastructure, including roads, bridges, water and sewer systems
  
• Public/private partnerships to vastly expand and improve efficiency of clean energy technologies

Reform of the banking/credit system:

• Extended oversight of all financial and banking institutions
  
• Break up institutions that are “too big to fail” so we don't ever have to bail out Wall Street again
• Reintroduce firewalls between securities, insurance and lending institutions
  
• Tax speculative financial transactions
  
• Passing a 15% cap on credit card interest
  

Stop bleeding jobs:

• Withdrawal from and/or dramatic renegotiation of trade agreements (NAFTA, WTO, etc.) that favor wealthy and corporate interests at the expense of the middle class and working families
  
• Create fair trade agreements with partners who support appropriate labor and environmental standards
  
• Rebuild important manufacturing sectors in America—offshored manufacturing undermines our national security