The most important action the government can take to ease the economic crisis is to bypass the middle-fiddle manipulators of Wall Street and deal with the thousands of solvent local and regional banks that still exercise sound lending and investment practices.
Thought the left didn't like trickle down economics?
What would you have government do.... Fannieize and Freddieize these banks into lending? There is a reason they are still solvent. They were to small for the government to get its meat hooks into in the first place.
As for the malls, the last thing I want to see at the mall is a line of sick people waiting in line. It doesn't put people in a shopping mood. I'm all for small businesses moving in to start up, but your proposal completely ignores the owner or the cost of upkeep and security. What small business can afford those costs. It's probably cheaper for the owner to let the spaces go unfilled. Unless you want to nationalize these malls, you need a bigger draw than Aunt Alice's Arts and Crafts. I don't see government as the answer here. It will take a big box store willing to take a chance to make that work. Just don't put them next to the clinic.
