If we would have kept the regulations from the Great Depression era in place, we probably wouldn't be in this mess. It's one thing to deregulate our banking and financial system, but we've allowed the inmates of the asylum to do something many times worse.

Deregulate, take as much risk as they want, with the complete backing of the American tax payer.

IMO, every single one of these banks, financial institutions, investors, mortgage brokers and right down to the small investor and home owner, that took risk and lost, should lose absolutely everything and fail.

If we're gonna play "free ecomomics" then it damn well better be fair economics. Unfortunately, its been perverted to something that is beyond insanity. If you're rich and powerful, you can take all the risk you want and the little American tax payer will gladly cover your losses through direct tax backed payments and the absorbtion of your losses via the devaluation of his earnings and savings under the color of the declining dollar. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/angry.gif" alt="" />

I just wonder if all those who voted in the people who advocated for this supposedly free and deregulated system, are now proud of their accomplishments as what little money they had now evaporates out of their savings and wallets.

As far as the economic indicators in the first post in this thread, this article is worth a read. Just a taste of how the economic indicators we rely on are all but worthless.

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2008/04/25/02