FAQ

• How long will it take to kick our addiction to foreign oil?

  The target is under 10 years. Ethanol 85 fueled cars are available now. We have 10 million on the road in the United States already. Half the cars sold in the United States in 2012 can operate on this flex fuel which is 85% alcohol and only 15% gasoline. Electric/hybrid cars are being introduced already. It is conceivable we could do it much quicker than the 10 year target.

  Last updated: Fri, Jul 6 2012 6:20 pm EDT
• How can we afford it?

  This plan should pay for itself by creating jobs and profits. World War II ended the Great Depression in 4 short years and began the greatest period of economic prosperity the world has ever seen. What we are trying to recreate here is the recovery from unemployment and business stagnation of our recent Financial Crisis. If successful we should be able to completely pay off our $15 trillion National Debt within 15 years.

  Last updated: Fri, Jul 6 2012 6:23 pm EDT
• What can I do to help?

  Besides helping to get the book published - spread the word. Tell your friends, write letters to the editor of newspapers, contact TV and radio programs, contact your representatives in Congress, let everyone know there is a way out of our Second Great Depression. The gloom and doom of the last 4 years can be the darkness before the dawn. Let's party like it was Mardi Gras in New Orleans! We deserve it after all the suffering. The whole world will benefit from our bringing the economy back to life. Austerity = reduced economic activity. Spending = increased economic activity. Its just that simple.

  Last updated: Fri, Jul 6 2012 6:41 pm EDT
• What if I can't afford to buy a new energy efficient car right now?

  Gasoline only cars which have fuel injectors can be converted to using E85 fuel for under $200 most of the time. The computer built into the fuel injector reads the fuel comming into the carburator and automatically makes adjustments as required to deal with the mix of alcohol versus gasoline. You can not use E 85 in a car which was not engineered for that fuel.

  Last updated: Fri, Jul 6 2012 6:49 pm EDT
• What is the cost of Ethanol 85 compared to pure gasoline?

  It depends on what part of the country you are in. In some areas it is slightly more expensive. In some areas it is slightly less expensive. For the most part it approximately the same. In time, once we gear up to growing crops like switch grass, sugar cane, sugar beets, and hemp economically the price of pure ethanol should come down to below $1.00 per gallon. (Corn is the worst source of ethanol for technical reasons). We could again see fuel costs below $2.00 per gallon someday for E85.

  Last updated: Fri, Jul 6 2012 7:04 pm EDT
• What is the difference between Vodka and Ethanol?

  Nothing! Vodka is watered down. Pure Vodka is the same thing as pure Ethanol. Other beverages such as whiskey, gin, rum and tequilla have additional ingredients. The alcohol is the same. There are different kinds of alcohol which are chemically different. But the alcohol in your highball is the same as Ethanol.

  Last updated: Fri, Jul 6 2012 7:16 pm EDT
• How can we pay off $10 trillion of the National Debt in 10 years?

  Appendix I - Off Topic

  From National Debt to National Piggy Bank

  
  Ten Trillion Dollars in Debt Reduction in Ten Years

  Five trillion dollars is in the bag if we do nothing.

  The Super Committee failed to act so $1.2 trillion is automatically cut by "sequestration" of federal spending over 10 years.

  The Bush tax cuts expire next year unless Congress repeals it and the President signs it. So that gives us another $3.8 trillion over 10 years. Not too shabby. We get $5 trillion in Debt Reduction during the next decade by doing nothing.

  How about we go for another $5 trillion of low hanging fruit by taxing Derivatives? That is a $600 trillion market that most Americans have never heard of. It would affect less than 1% of the population even though it is a market 40 times the size of the US stock market. Contracts below $1 million of notional value would be exempt from the tax.

  How can there be a "secret" market that big which most Americans do not know about? Because it is hidden in plain sight. If you do a Google search on $600 trillion you will get back hundreds of thousands of responses with one thing in common. They all contain the word Derivatives. There is no other market in the world that large.

  You have heard about Wall Street traders earning tens of millions of dollars in year end bonuses. Those traders know what Derivatives are. That is how they earn those multi-million dollar bonuses. In 2007 one trader earned a bonus of $1 billion in a single year by gambling with other peoples' money. He had no skin in the game because none of the money he used was his. He had no subordinates. He was not the head of the company. He was just a trader. He was trading Derivatives. And his end of the year bonus was $1 billion.

  You know what the transfer fee on Derivatives is? Nothing. Zero. Zilch. When you and I buy something in most states we pay a transfer fee called sales tax. The range is about 5 - 10% in most of the states. When a Hedge Fund sells a multi-billion dollar Derivatives contract to an Investment Bank there is no transfer fee. No sales tax. That is not fair.

  A 0.5% transfer fee on both the buyer and the seller would raise over $5 trillion in 10 years. We should establish a Federal Assets and Liabilities Board to collect the tax and require it by law to use 98% of the fee to retire debt and use the other 2% to pay its expenses so it is self financing. It would not be part of the government. It would not be financed by the government. It would not be subject to control by political leaders. It would be required only to obey the law. Politicians and regulators would be able to exert no judgment in exercising its mandate to pay down the debt. Bean counters would be in charge. Their sole mission is to collect the tax and pay down the debt. Citizens need not worry that politicians would squander the revenue in stupid expenditures. Politicians would never have authority to exert control over how the independent agency administers the tax monies.

  You might think Republicans would oppose this law because it is a new tax. Wrong. It is not an increase in tax rates based on income. It does not violate the Norquist tax pledge to oppose increases in tax rates related to income. It is a transfer fee based on voluntary behavior. If you don't want to pay the tax, then don't engage in risky investment activity which puts the public treasury on the hook if your betting fails like happened during the Financial Crisis of 2008.

  Several Members of Congress are considering introducing legislation to tax Derivatives to raise money to pay off the National Debt and have it administered by the quasi governmental agency not beholding to any political office holders or governmental regulators.

  This tax on Derivatives would add another $5 trillion in deficit reduction to the $1.2 trillion in budget cuts through sequestration and #3.8 trillion in the expiration of the Bush tax cuts which are already called for in existing law. Not bad for government work. Ten trillion in debt reduction over a ten year period of time.

  Confucius say: "Don't just do something. Stand there."

  
  If you want to help push this idea I suggest you send the following message to your representatives in Congress:

  
  I would like you to consider introducing the following legislation taxing Derivatives to Pay Off the National Debt:

  
  Name: The Derivatives Transfer Fee Act and Creation of a new quasi-governmental agency known as The Federal Assets and Liabilities Board

  
  Bill: All Derivatives traded in the United States with a notional value of $1 million or more shall be subject to a transfer fee of 0.5% assessed on both the buyer and the seller at the time of the transaction.

  
  A New Quasi-Governmental Agency:

  Federal Assets and Liabilities Board

  (1) The purpose of the FALB is to pay off the national debt of the United States.

  (2) It will be a private business for the public good.

  (3) It will not be financed by or a part of the federal government.

  (4) It will receive revenue from a 0.5% transaction fee assessed on both the buyer and the seller of all derivatives transactions executed within the United States.

  (5) Salaries and expenses will be paid from a 2% cut of revenues Operations Fund. All the remainder 98% will be used to pay off the national debt.

  (6) The Chair and Vice-Chair will be elected by voters in all states.

  (7) Regional Presidents will be elected from geographical locales coterminous with the Federal Reserve Districts. All voters in those areas will be eligible to vote for their Regional President.

  (8) A Venture Capital Committee will consist of the Chair, Vice-Chair, and three of the Regional Presidents in a rotating order. They will have monies available from the 2% Operations Fund. They will make loans to individuals and companies who apply for funding. These loans will require a repayment of 100% of the monies borrowed and the transfer of a 5% stake in the borrowing firm to the Federal Assets and Liabilities Board (FALB) Operations Fund. No taxes will be paid by the FALB. Instead, 98% of the fees received from the transaction fee on derivatives will go directly toward paying off the national debt.

  (9) The FALB will be directly responsible to the voters. Annual reports will detail transactions for the period in paying down the National Debt and make such activities transparent to the public.

  (10) After ten years of operation, the charter of the FALB will be reviewed by the voters for renewal or dissolution.

  Last updated: Sun, Jul 22 2012 12:14 pm EDT