Farid Khavari

Miami, FL   — Noted economist Farid Khavari, a  Democratic candidate for Florida governor, has gained national and international attention for his plan to create a state-owned bank in Florida.

“Not since the Great Depression has it been so clear,” said Khavari. “We need banks that work for the benefit of the people, not people working for the benefit of the banks. There is no mystery why we are facing another depression: the banks got greedy and stupid, and now they are making us pay for it.

“The economy is collapsing due to lack of demand. The economy needs money, but the banks are cutting credit, and then sucking all the cash out of the economy by raising interest rates to make sure no one has any cash left at the end of the month. The cost of interest is built into the cost of everything. People already work ten years of their lives just to pay interest in one form or another. The Bank of the State of Florida will end that for Floridians. And this model will work for every state.

“We can start the BSF at no cost to taxpayers. We can pay 6% interest on savings. Using the same fractional reserve rules as all banks, we can create $900 of new money through loans for every $100 in deposits. We can loan that $900 in the form of 2% fixed rate 15-year mortgages, for example, and the state can earn $12 every year for every $100 in deposits. That means Floridians can save tens of billions of dollars per year while the state earns billions making it possible for them.

“2% fixed-rate mortgages will create a thousand times more jobs than any so-called stimulus can.  By reducing the total interest cost on a home by over 85%, the average family will save hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that money stays in Florida,” Khavari said.

“State and local government budgets will balance without higher taxes when the BSF cuts interest costs,” Khavari said. “6% BSF credit cards will save people billions per month, money that stays in Florida instead of going to the big banks—and the state will make huge profits on that, too.  Saving billions in interest costs will create millions of jobs without subsidies just by keeping those billions circulating in Florida. Eventually the state will earn enough to reduce and eliminate state and local taxes while every Floridian has economic security in a recession-proof Florida.”

Asked whether a state-owned bank is socialism, Khavari smiled. “Are public schools socialism? Public roads, police and fire protection, municipal water? Socialism is where everyone works for the state. In these cases, and with our Bank of the State of Florida, the state is working for everyone. I call that general capitalism.”

Farid A. Khavari, Ph.D. is an economist and author of nine books, including Environomics. His latest book, Toward a Zero-Cost Economy, is available in stores or for free download at his website, www.khavariforgovernor.com.

Miami, FL (MMD Newswire) August 31, 2009 – - Noted economist Farid A. Khavari announced that he is a Democratic candidate in the 2010 Florida gubernatorial race. “I have published a complete plan to revive Florida’s economy and make Florida recession-proof,” said Khavari. “We can put 700,000 Floridians back to work. The state can earn billions providing 2% mortgages and 6% credit cards. We can cut insurance costs by 30% across the board, and reduce energy costs. All together, an average Florida family will own their home 15 years sooner and save $200,000 in interest, insurance and energy costs with this plan. State and local governments will save billions per year. We can do this without higher taxes.” Khavari’s proposal for a publicly-owned bank has attracted national attention since it was announced in July.

“What other candidate even has a plan?” asked Khavari. “All we read in the papers is how much money they have raised, not a word about any plans except to get elected.”

Khavari cited Alex Sink and Bill McCollum as examples. “Alex Sink is Chief Financial Officer of Florida. She is one of three trustees of the State Board of Administration. In the past two years this fund has lost over $50 billion, about 40% of its value. This is outrageous but it is being covered up.”

When asked how a $50 billion loss could be covered up, Khavari replied, “That’s easy. The other two trustees of the SBA are the Attorney General and the Governor.” CFO Sink is now a Democratic candidate for Governor, Attorney General McCollum is a Republican candidate for Governor, and Gov. Charlie Crist is running for the U.S. Senate.

The State Board of Administration is custodian of funds from about 1,000 state and local government entities in Florida including pension funds for state and municipal workers. “Whether this is negligence, stupidity or corruption, I cannot say,” said Khavari, “but they didn’t lose this money buying blue chip stocks. They lost it playing in high-risk derivatives and other trades that no sane person would consider.

“My plan will earn $50 billion for the state, and much more, without higher taxes. Who else has a plan? The media are dazzled by which candidate has raised the most money. Do you think those millions came from ordinary people? The media made a big scandal over $50,000 worth of rides in state airplanes, but this $50 billion loss is a million times bigger and the media are helping to cover it up.”

Khavari noted as an exception a series of articles by four-time Pulitzer winner Sydney P. Freedberg published in the St. Petersburg Times and archived online atwww.tampabay.com/writers/sydney-p-freedberg.

Farid A. Khavari, Ph. D., is the author of nine books, including Environomics. His latest book, Toward a Zero-Cost Economy, is available in stores or for free download atwww.khavariforgovernor.com.