In Which I Singlehandedly Fix the Nation's Economy.

Okay, I'm no economics expert. In fact, I still count on my fingers. Just yesterday, I bought 4 packs of spider pop-up toys that came 4 to a pack because I needed 12 for my son's daycare Halloween party (I was counting by 3's). So I'm the last person you would ever want to trust with your money.

However, I do think I have enough common sense to make some assessments about what would help us get out of this economic mess we're in.  With that disclaimer, here is my patented six part plan to fix the economy:

1. Legalize Marijuana
This one seems like a no-brainer to me.  By legalizing pot, we would reap the rewards of tax revenue, while eliminating the cost of law enforcement involved in pot-related cases.  "But wait!" you say.  "Won't everyone start smoking pot then?!"  No.  I personally would not become a stoner if pot was legalized tomorrow, nor would most people I know.  The people who are doing it now will keep doing it, and the people who aren't, won't.  I think this same argument applies to all illegal drugs, but we can stick with pot for now.

2. Legalize Prostitution
See my argument above and apply it to this.  Also, I think that prostitution is something that will always happen, and women would benefit from having it legalized.  They would get better access to healthcare and would be able to operate in a safer environment.

3. Tax Product Imports
If companies are going to ship all of our manufacturing jobs overseas, then we should give them a disincentive to do that by charging them to bring all those products back into the country.  Right?

4. Focus on "Green" Jobs
I think we could make up for some of the manufacturing jobs that have been lost over the years by creating new "green" manufacturing jobs.  Solar panels, wind farms, etc.  I don't know a lot about this industry, so I won't go into detail, but it seems like it would work.

5. Medicare for All
Providing a single-payer insurance plan for all Americans would reduce the costs we are already paying for people who have no insurance and rack up large hospital bills for things that could have been caught early.  Think about it, everyone having coverage would mean everyone could go to the doctor and get their prescriptions and medical supplies.  What does this mean?  Higher demand for doctors, nurses, pharmacists, receptionists, nurse's aids, etc.  Sure, a lot of health insurance company employees would lose their jobs, but they could retrain for one of those new green or healthcare jobs.  Also, at least they'd have their medical costs covered while they were unemployed.

6. Taxation Fairness
Make the wealthy pay the same percentage of their income in taxes as the rest of us do.  Seems only fair to me, and it would help us raise a ton of money to train people for all those new green and medical jobs we'll have.

Pretty soon, we'll all have a job and be able to buy stuff, which means more companies can sell stuff, which means more people have jobs, which means more people can buy stuff, etc., etc., etc.

Why don't I rule the world yet?