By PATSY FLANIGAN
The Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the National Association of Women Business Owners and others last month collaborated to present an economic summit to discuss the current situation. As a concerned citizen and business owner on the Westside for the last 39 years, I was very interested in the panel’s assessment of the current situation.
Panelists from the business world included executives of financial services firms. The general consensus, as put by one panelist, Fox Business News anchor Dagen McDowell: “They really do not know what to do.”
If ideas are needed, I am happy to offer mine. I put together an 11-point list to help solve the problems of this current recession.
Foremost is the fact that consumer confidence is vital. It will only return when there is stability in the economy. That is essentially my focus as I reach toward Washington and suggest some solutions. Keyword: inspiration.
By the numbers
To those elected persons who have accepted the awesome responsibility of leading our country, I wish you the greatest of success. Please do no harm.
1) A possibility is for the Fed to raise interest rates at least two percentage points, and then freeze them at that level for at least a year. Then people who have saved for their retirement would no longer lose their income and could depend on a return. This could also help free up some private money that is now stalled or going into alternative investments that do not increase the GDP.
2) For long-term stability, create other ways to encourage saving rather than borrowing.
3) Ban no-down-payment mortgage loans, those that reset at higher interest rates and predatory lending in general.
4) Think more carefully before making new laws that may have unintended consequences. Spend time repealing out-of-date laws and regulations.
5) To increase confidence, allow us to believe in you by showing fortitude and clear thinking. Be inspirational and exemplify integrity. Walk the talk.
6) Believe in us. The American people are the most creative, hard-working people in the world. A doctor cannot heal his patient, he can only guide treatment. Likewise, Washington cannot heal the economy. Our government can only set guidelines and inspire. Give us the freedom and inspiration to innovate and create a vibrant economy.
7) Do not take our money, shrink it and give back a little. Do not take so much in the first place. Reduce the payroll tax on both workers and business. This will give an immediate boost for workers and allow business to hire more workers.
8) Accept your responsibility to build and maintain a strong infrastructure for the transportation of both goods and people. This is more of a long-term solution, but it will reduce our constant aggravation, and save time and money if done wisely.
9) Recognize that the best way to reduce the cost of health care is to inspire and educate people to take better care of their own health. Any health professional will tell you that at least 60 percent of illness is self-inflicted. Do not address health care when you really mean health insurance. An investment in prevention will pay off dramatically in the future. This is another long-term solution, but vital. A healthy populace can do more and enjoy doing it.
10) Do not try to return us to an overleveraged economy. As anyone who manages a budget can tell you, you cannot spend your way out of debt. We lose confidence when you try to do that with our money.
11) Remember your primary job is to keep us safe and well respected as a nation. This can make us proud to be American.
If this is a lot to ask, so be it. Please do not be hasty in just getting something done. Make sure you are doing the right thing, following the right path, or creating a new and better one.
Again, I wish you great success in doing the right thing.
Patsy Flanigan is president of Flanigan Farms Natural Foods in Culver City. She was elected to the White House Conference on Small Business in 1995, was chairwoman of the Culver City Chamber of Commerce in 1998-99 and received a Small Business Advocate of the Year Award in 1998 from the California Chamber of Commerce.
