Benton Column Proposes Plan for Channeling Federal Bank Bailout Money to Struggling U.S. Households

FALLS CHURCH, Va., Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In his weekly national affairs column Oct. 16, "My Plan for Working Off Household Debt," Nicholas F. Benton, owner-editor of the Northern Virginia-based Falls Church News-Press, proposed a novel plan for channeling federal bank bailout money to struggling households. The plan has elicited keen interest from regional Democratic Party leaders, as Benton cites in his column.

"Now that the U.S. government has moved to take ownership positions in nine major banks, among the next critical steps needed to ease the economic crisis' recessionary impact on average American is to swap household debt relief for commitments to community service and national infrastructure and alternative energy development," Benton wrote. "Such a program would not only help stabilize the banking system, but it would offer direct relief to the debt and mortgage-crushed American public, serving as a form of economic stimulus focused on the middle class. It would address the anticipated major growth in unemployment numbers, relieve foreclosure pressures and at the same time help in the effort to refocus the nation's economic priorities toward new domestic development."

He continued, "Under my plan, through a clear house mechanism, American citizens would have the opportunity to pay off their student loans and other debts by signing up for a full or part-time role in a national community service agency, hopefully utilizing their best skills and expertise in a constructive way to augment the domestic economy." (The column in its entirely appears on the Falls Church News-Press website, http://www.fcnp.com).

As a small businessman who founded the Falls Church News-Press in 1991, in addition to editing his paper, Benton has been writing a weekly national affairs column for over a decade, and has served two terms as president of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce, winning its "Pillar of the Community" award twice, and has been on the Chamber's board of directors for 17 years.

As of this writing the Falls Church News-Press is the only newspaper in Virginia to have endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president.

Contact: Nicholas F. Benton, (703) 532-3267, nfbenton@fcnp.com

SOURCE Falls Church News-Press

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