I mentioned the other day that one of the Republican proposals to solve the current financial crisis is to suspend the capital gains tax. Here are more loopy ideas from the right wing, courtesy of Steven Pearlstein of the Washington Post:

“The first is one of those "carryback" provisions long favored by lobbyists for all ailing industries -- allowing companies to apply those massive losses from this year and next, and "apply" them to the massive profits made over the past five years, generating a humongous tax rebate.

Just imagine it: Next April 15, checks for billions of dollars will go out from the U.S. Treasury to Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America (Countrywide), J.P Morgan (Bear Stearns, WaMu) and the Swiss bankers of UBS and Credit Suisse. Think of it as a small token of our gratitude for having done so much to create and sustain our innovative and efficient financial system.

And while they're at it, Republicans aim to free up capital that is now "trapped" in such tax havens as Liechtenstein and the Cayman Islands by allowing hedge funds and big corporations to bring it home tax-free. As Republicans see it, that money will be plowed back into a financial system now starved for investment capital. Should they make any profit from those investments, they can stash it back in Liechtenstein and the Cayman Islands until the next financial crisis.”

-Crosses, garlic, wooden stakes, silver bullets, none of that will work on these bloodsuckers. What we’ve got to do is show up and vote them out of office.