Published: October 05, 2008 12:26 am            

DODD: Let’s get real about bailout

“A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money!”

— former U.S. Sen. Everett Dirkson

•••

There is no historical evidence that the late Senator from Illinois ever actually spoke the words that have so often been attributed to him by urban legend. You have no idea what seven hundred billion dollars or $700,000,000,000 is.

I have no idea what that number is. In fact, nobody has a real concept of that number.

It is not real money. Rather, it’s just some number that represents imaginary dollars in a smoke-and-mirrors paper figure. Per Ask.com, there is not remotely that much money in circulation per the U.S. Treasury figures. All coin circulation including bullion in the Treasury totals $3,785,690,795. Add in United States notes and bank notes which accounts for another $1,622,299,231 and the total figure is $5,407,990,026, or less than 1 percent of 700 hundred billion.

A friend of mine once relayed a story to me about a certain pizza magnate whose roots were formed in Jeffersonville. At the time the pizza entrepreneur was thought to have a personal fortune of several hundred million dollars. A few buddies from Jeffersonville were accompanying him on a guys’ road trip to Augusta, Ga., to attend the Masters Golf Championship.

It seems they stopped to eat and when the bill came the pizza baron had evidently left his wallet back at the hotel. My friend, who was a regular working stiff, and another buddy had to pick up the bill including the pizza magnate's portion. On that day, the millionaire’s net worth was imaginary money. The $50 or so actually paid out-of-pocket for the lunch bill was real money.

I read where the initially proposed $700 billion bailout represented about $10,000 per every American household and would have to be borrowed from China. I would like to have proposed an alternate plan for the borrowed $700 billion.

First of all, let all of the criminally irresponsible banking and investment firms go under as a result of their own arrogance and greed. Actually give the $10,000 figure to each American household. Some people, like my wife Kim and I, would simply put that money in a bank for a future rainy day fund. Many similar deposits would insure that legitimate banks would have increased liquidity to continue to make funds available for the average consumer's financial needs.

Many people I personally know would forego any thought of saving this new found fortune and spend like drunken sailors on shore leave. The added influx of spending will immediately enter the mainstream economy and consumer spending and confidence will create a boom on Wall Street in new sectors. It's a net win-win for Wall Street and Mr. and Mrs. Main Street.

I know my plan is way too simple for members of Congress to grasp. It involves real dollars ($10,000 per household) and not the billions that always seem more confusing to the average person.

I will sum up my thoughts on Washington with another quote from a late U.S. Senator and former Vice-President, Hubert Humphrey, “The Senate is a place filled with goodwill and good intentions, and if the road to hell is paved with them, then it's a pretty good detour.”

•••

To leave you on a completely different note, I visited with my friend Leon Stocksdale this past week shortly before they laid his father, Marvin “Leon” Stocksdale, to rest.

The elder Stocksdale was a World War II veteran and by all accounts a heck of a good guy. His son relayed to me of how proud his dad was of being a veteran. Most of his fellow WWII veterans I have met are usually much fuller of humility than pride. I find these guys usually don't think the country owes them anything for their sacrifice when, in fact, we owe them everything.

Shortly before his passing, Stocksdale visited Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for the first time since his active duty. As he was walking around the base a couple of officers in their dress white uniforms came upon the kindly old gent wearing his ball cap signifying the destroyer he had served on during the war which escorted military tankers carrying fuel out of Pearl Harbor. The two high ranking officers stopped and saluted Marvin “Leon” Stocksdale. The veteran told his son that this simple act of respect made his entire trip worthwhile.

No military regulations are in effect that require an officer to salute an enlisted man. An officer in uniform saluting a veteran in street clothes is the ultimate respect; it is not an act given by regulation, rather one that can only have been earned. It's a story that not only says a lot about the veteran Stocksdale, but also speaks of the caliber and character of officers in the military today. It's simply the kind of real story that I find very humbling and thought important to share- as it put a smile upon my face for most of that day.

I hope we still are raising some patriotic young men and women who emulate veterans like Marvin “Leon” Stocksdale, as they are hard to lose; and much harder still to replace.

Lindon Dodd is an Otisco resident who is a freelance writer and can be reached at lindon.dodd@hotmail.com.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.