Opinions?

This whole world-wide financial debacle is a symptom of government spending gone awry, enabled by fiat money. Neither cause will be fixed, so nothing will change, bail out of banks or of entire nations or not, we're doomed to see it all happen again. Think of Thursday as a foretaste of the rest of the decade, in case you thought that the sour taste left by October 2008 had waned.

People could argue about this until the cows come home, and in the end, after all the arguments have been heard, people who do not like big goverment, big spending, and economic control and oversight by the government (and who tend to vote Republican) will still say the problem is too much government, too much spending, and too much control.

On the other hand, people who want a strong central government, considerable spending on social programs, and economic planning and control (and who tend to vote Democratic), will still claim the problem is not enough government control and insufficient regulation of the financial sector.

And almost any other kind of problem or crisis that might arise in the future will bring forth the same arguments by the same people. In these matters there is a great deal of ideology, dogma, and resistance to change and not a lot serious inquiry and admission that something new has to be tried.

Excessive debt.:)

No ... you mean I have to repay what I borrowed?! When did that happen?! Did those bozo Congressmen pass some new legislation or something?

If one may be forgiven for asking details, what is the difference between "debt" and "leverage"?

The article linked to below explains currency swaps, and is useful in interpreting the news headlines this past Monday.

IRS link below shows U.S. Federal Budget Outlays for 2008. The interest on the national debt was 9% (in a year when real interest rates existed).

The consensus seems to be that entitlement (or 'mandatory') spending is growing too quickly. Is this what you meant when you said, "gone awry"? I agree this has profound implications for individuals seeking rational financial planning, just judging from market reactions to recent news from Europe, but I think it is entirely possible to do something about it.

"Polls

According to a CBS News/New York Times poll in July 2009, 56% of people were opposed to paying more taxes to reduce the deficit and 53% were also opposed to cutting spending. According to a Pew Research poll in June 2009, there was no single category of spending that a majority of Americans favored cutting. Only cuts in foreign aid (less than 1% of the budget), polled higher than 33%. Economist Bruce Bartlett wrote in December 2009: "Nevertheless, I can't really blame members of Congress for lacking the courage or responsibility to get the budget under some semblance of control. All the evidence suggests that they are just doing what voters want them to do, which is nothing."[105] [snip] A Rasmussen Reports survey in February 2010 showed that only 35% of voters correctly believe that the majority of federal spending goes to just defense, Social Security and Medicare. Forty-four percent (44%) say it?s not true, and 20% are not sure. [108] "

QED

The fact that many Americans refuse to consider its military too big, too expensive and too aggressive, because many have benefited from its largess, will prove to be America's demise as a republican democracy.

Surely, the military are necessary and some people actually are called to that kind of life and we all should be grateful to and honor them. But when there are over 200 bases around the world, some of the biggest ones in places where the last fire was shot over 60 years ago, it?s clearly just a racket to be used by presidents whose popularity is low and is seeking a boost by not declaring war on not-so-innocent suckers, condemning to death thousands of civilians, be they in Granada, Iraq, Serbia, Afghanistan, etc, all the while exploiting a naive and cash-striped youth.

It?s about time for America to decimate its military. It?d likely still be the mightiest military in the world, but we wouldn?t have to foot a trillion-dollar billion every year to prop up such an unproductive activity. Otherwise, much like Eisenhower implied in his farewell speech, we?ll become ???????.

An article in the WSJ says: "A study to be published in coming weeks by the Washington-based Brookings Institution finds that bribery, patronage and other public corruption are major contributors to the country's ballooning debt, depriving the Greek state each year of the equivalent of at least 8% of its gross domestic product, or more than ?20 billion (about $27 billion)."

Just look at the TIF financing taking place in your own city to see that the US isn't immune. Stadium are a good example.

-- Ron