This essay was posted June 12, 2008.

I'm the poet candidate for president, roasting in the sun, the innovator with viable solutions for our most serious prob limbs. Regardless who becomes president, (I didn't win the election), when it comes to exiting Iraq, with or without me, my non-partisan plan is the only game in town. With my strategy for exiting Iraq in place, the Iraqis will become our second most important ally in the Middle East, our bastion against terrorist operations throughout their neighborhood.

You saw the Bush surge. With my plan, senseless killing will cease. The insurgency will wither. You don't get this kind of claim from the likes of Barky Obama, Hillary Rodham Clintstone, or John McCain.

Media must go public with my exit strategy, on the table for public debate, except they cannot, absent deference to my candidacy which media has yet to admit, though precious lives could be saved. Whose world is it? Yours, dear viewers or theirs?

Today's issue, rather, is our world economy, which deep ends on the USA. But for your humble poet prophet candidate, not a soul on planet earth claims to understand economy. Let me spell out the meaning of economy: e con oh me is a couple lobbyists on a golf course early in the day trying to scheme a way to shaft me out of my take home pay. Such is my definition of the word e con oh me.

I expect that I will be elected president, finally, in the next election because I will give at least one major speech on network television before the next election, and that is all it should have to take. The other candidates don't have a program for world peace and food chain harmony. They don't have a Vehicle For World Peace, on the table, ready for your test drive. I do.

Upon my election, before taking the oath of office, I will have arranged a meet with chief executives of WalMart, Target, KMart, Wendy's, McDonalds, Burger King, and every other fast food op, restaurant chain, and supermarket in America. All are included. We need them all, regardless how big or small.

My purpose is to arrange an additional tabulation at their cash registers. For every item over the counter, or beeped by the scanners, we want an extra 2 cents tacked on, that, a voluntary gratuity. Any patron can refuse the added two cents. Burger, fries and a drink means an extra six cents; pennies off the pavement; regardless how many items at the market, merely the loose change in our pockets.

At the end of the pay period, a representative chosen by the counter crew will meet with management to ratify the total of all the items paid for out the door.

Up to $2 dollars extra for every hour worked will be added to the worker's pay checks. This additional money is not subject to income tax though 5% could be withheld for social security, to further enrich social security - preparing the move to privatization. But we want to keep it simple, stupid.

In the event we do withhold 5 % for Social Security from the extra cash, employers are exempt from matching, so employers are not forced into raising the sticker prices on their goods to cover an additional cost of doing business, because from the employer's bottom line, there won't be any additional cost brought on by this program!

The overage, money above and beyond the untaxed $2 extra per hour in every worker's pay envelopes, is earmarked for an interest bearing medical savings account with the worker's name and portion on file. Interest from these savings accounts will capitalize Doctor Direct Paperless Insurance, my instantaneous medical coverage plan for the 47 million uninsured Americans, another of my innovative non-government programs, my approach as President to both covering all while eliminating health insurance fraud.

My anti-recessionary, over the counter gratuity, $344 a month extra, month in and month out is absent any cost to our government. Rather it is the voluntary pennies out of pocket of the middle class not-rich to the working also not-so-rich, a good deed from one citizen to another during the course of every day.

In all the dry cleaners we could put a nickel on every shirt pressed, and a dime for every piece dry cleaned. In all the family operated cleaners the med savings accounts will cover the cost of worker?s health insurance.

This 2 cents extra measure will cover 90% of all the minimum and low paying jobs in our whole country, and cancel the recession! Every person in a lower echelon hourly job, working 40 hours a week will have an additional $80 weekly in their pay envelope. $76 after 5% set aside for Social Security.

Relative to that extra two cents on every item in the fast food chains, with this program in place, a couple working the counter would have enough dollars coming in to afford their own little apartment, qualify for a decent car, and a DVD / VCR, have the bucks for a pizza, and to go out dancing on a Saturday night or see a first run movie.

Is it necessary to write an Executive Order to accomplish this $2 pay raise? I say knot! The president, at least in this campaign, this unknown presidential candidate is providing lead er ship, sense over ship, and showing the way. I will establish this much needed program with a pre-presidential CEO jaw bone, before the election, followed by an afternoon, schmoozing the participating CEO's with the promise we meet again in the Oval Office, after the inauguration, before sauntering out on the White House lawn for a photo-op behind the rose garden, breaking ground for the president's private miniature golf course near the Finnish sauna, next to the temporary elephant house for elephant summer guests next to the big new oversize pool housing well fed dolphins who jump thru hoops every afternoon to entertain all the White House visiting kids.

My gratuity pay check plan for the check-to-check working not-so-rich will off set the upper middle upper class recession, that brought on by the bursting housing finance bubble that today is pouring dreck on the poor.

Join my campaign. Before I go to bed in the White House I'll be sure to set the 3:00 a.m. red phone to call forwarding so I get a good night's sleep.

Michael Stephen Levinson

OK I'll answer the phone.