Need jobs
Zip up your pockets and give jobs back to Americans.
SUSAN PERKINS, Methuen
End uncertainty
There will be no recovery without putting people back to work. Companies are hoarding cash because there is so much uncertainty with our government's economic policies. Obama and Congress need to extend or make permanent the Bush tax cuts and encourage small businesses to start investing. Once the veil of uncertainty is lifted, companies will invest, jobs will be created, and we can begin to dig ourselves out of this massive deficit and national debt hole our government has created.
RYAN NORMAN, Newton, N.H.
Tax cuts
The economy is in a spiraling decline. There are millions of jobless who've settled for part-time work or quit looking. Housing /construction starts are in reverse, boosted recently only by the temporary home purchase credit that recently expired. What is astonishing is that state and federal administrations "experiment" with tax-based stimulation such as temporary tax credits and one-day sales tax suspensions. They work! But then they revert to tax and spend policies. Why? There is a misguided penchant for redistributive wealth policies to support expansive entitlement programs. The recession will linger for years until tax breaks and deregulation help small and mid-sized companies to create jobs, coupled with a reduction or elimination of entire government programs.
JOE D'AMORE, Groveland
Antitrust laws
Before they happen — and before the pockets are lined and the palms are greased — enforce the antitrust laws. Prevent hostile business buyouts and takeovers. Less "streamlining" caused by corporate buyouts means fewer job losses, layoffs and closings and better products. Here's a question: Do the antitrust laws cover how many publicly traded corporations a person can sit on? That's part of the problem. I'm certain there are many more like me: a middle-management Wall Street worker's $500,000 bonus is 20 years of my salary. Yet if it were not for me and my colleagues, that bonus would never have been made.
ANNE COMMENATOR, Derry
Free markets
Plenty. Stop overspending. No bailouts. Stop increasing taxes. Keep government out of the economy. Stated positively, the Obama administration needs to initiate tax cuts to encourage consumer spending or savings. Deregulation will encourage businesses to hire and investors to invest. Government should stick to maintaining order, and defense. Let the free market operate!
BILL RICE, Methuen
Different spin
Unless and until the federal government adopts stringent policies like communist/capitalist China practices, "double-dip recessions" will loom large as a threat to our ever so delicate democracy. The government could scrap the Constitution and the human rights inherent in same. Doing so would make us more competitive in the world markets. Doing so would put us more in league with leaders of today who praise limited but security-minded government. Doing so would make for more order in the name of freedom. "Freedom" would then have a different spin attached to it, leading to reduced possibilities. But wait a second, there's hope on the horizon yet in the form of the Tea Party people who have struck a nerve deep in America's psyche. By the way, while you're thinking along these lines, just think how closely China and tea go together.
WARREN F. KELLEY, North Andover
No quick fix
There is no quick fix for the mess our country is in. The stimulus spending did not solve the problem so why not try a tax cut? My heart goes out to the people losing their homes and jobs.
VIOLA HAYNES, Methuen
Web poll results
What can the federal government do to prevent a "double-dip" recession?
Pass another stimulus package — 16%
Cut taxes and regulations — 70%
Nothing — 14%
Total votes: 144
