Founded in 1991, the Republican Liberty Caucus works to advance the principles of limited government, free markets and individual liberty within the Republican Party.

Two members of Congress have proposed sound bailout alternatives.

First, regarding the Wall Street bailout already approved by Congress: Representative Louis Gohmert of Texas has proposed returning all 2008 income taxes to American taxpayers as a solution to boost the ailing economy, as he believes taxpayers, rather than the government, should be using their hard-earned money to choose the economy’s winners and losers. Gohmert is preparing a bill to declare the tax holiday for January and February of 2009. According to Gohmert, “We can save more home mortgages, increase employment, and boost economic growth for a lower price tag with this plan than with any centralized bureaucratic program, all by giving the power back to the taxpayers. I am demanding that not another penny goes to executive bailouts, but these billions of taxpayer dollars should go to the taxpayers who earned them.”

According to American Solutions, citizens pay $101.6 billion per month in personal income tax and $65.6 billion per month in FICA tax. Under Gohmert’s proposed plan, all of these taxes would not be paid during January and February of 2009, and the money would stay in the hands of American taxpayers. There is a petition you can sign in support of the Gohmert plan at https://redstate.kimbia.com/taxholiday.

Additionally, Colorado Congressman Doug Lamborn has proposed an alternative to the soon to be approved Big Three automakers bailout. The bill, HR 7928, would provide incentives for people to buy cars and reduce the inventory. Lamborn’s plan would give up to a $10,000 tax deduction to each American who buys a new automobile manufactured in the United States — including Ford, Chrysler, GM and foreign auto companies that build cars in this country. The plan would also help small businesses by increasing expense limits from $250,000 to $500,000 with a phase-out cap of $1 million.

In short, there are sound alternatives to Bailout politics, but few Congressional members are willing to look toward alternatives that provide long-term solutions rather than short-term quick fixes.