Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures but not at the expense of fundamental human rights ( at the legal level ) and decency ( in the moral arena ). It is not at all an exaggeration to say that we are fighting another world war, albeit a financial one. In a war, not just the government but every responsible citizen must get involved. This is the sacred mission of any person with a sense of duty and basic human decency. I am not advocating a declaration of a state of emergency to allow government access to all economic resources which bureaucrats and dictators would jump with joy. I am simply proposing to beat FT at its own game by the issue of FT FIGHTING BONDS ( FTFB ) either by the government or through some public agency closely monitored by law and the government. All repayments on maturity must be guaranteed by government because it is a national debt for the benefit of all. Let us discuss the pros and cons of my crazy proposal.
Firstly, for the pros it has been done many times before but only this time the bonds are issued to fight a genuine and devastating financial war. All blueprints on the set up, administration and monitoring ( with publication of annual independent audit reports, etc. ) are readily available. Therefore, it will take a very short period of time to implement. The time element is vital in a fire fighting operation as in the present scenario. Secondly, it will provide much needed funds for the government's rescue efforts - far, far better than the undesirable and morally dubious emergency measure of printing more money. The last measure is a certain and fast track leading to degeneration into a fifth class nation. Thirdly, promoting the sale of FTFB will serve the ideal purpose of re-educating the public on their civic sense of duty and thus will hopefully lead to a new and enlightened sense of value - the enlightened capitalism I am strongly advocating. Fourth, the concept should be easily sold to the public because of its dependable and historical reputation. Fifth, it is a healthy way to channel saving ( or hoarding at this point ) back to investment in infrastructure that has enduring benefits for all future generations. This is the least our present generation can do to sweeten the bitter fruits produced by those black sheep among our own generation. They have messed it up badly for all of us and for all future generations. How can you black sheep sleep at night or face your own kids after what you have done ?
Let us not be carried away by the above pros of my humble suggestion on FTFB. The obvious cons or disadvantages are not few. Firstly, more bureaucratic ( which means more red tapes and waste in administrative costs ) structures will be put in place. Secondly, it is not equitable friendly because the interest paid on FTFB will mostly go to the well off sections of society who can spare the cash to buy the bonds. It is just the same in the case of the disadvantages of national debt ( please see the appropriate section in my FT paper by hitting the above blog title to reach my website ). Thirdly, a lot of promotion will be necessary at this gloomy time to persuade people to buy FTFB but an appeal to their patriotism might help. To fight the FT is as urgent as fighting terrorism at this point in world history because we have all been mortally hurt by financial terrorists. Fourth, it can give some totalitarian regimes another excuse to further exploit their citizens but that is a sad fact of life with such despicable regimes. The same criticism can be leveled at all public projects when such regimes are involved. Fifth, as always with rescue packages it will take a lot of arguments to settle the priority in spending the FTFB funds. This is just a general issue with all public spending.
The above humble contraption of mine is by no means perfect. That is the whole point of setting up my forum. This is also the beauty and importance of the basic human rights of expression. More heads are always better than one walnut head like mine. Please comment and criticize my reasoning so that we may learn from one another and hopefully do our insignificant part to fight this war against the FT. As a wise Chinese saying goes :- " When you add more stuff into boiling water it will eventually become something substantial and sustaining like porridge ! "
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