Also a war dosn’t necesserily help an econimy sometimes it makes it worse like……..now. The whole reason we had a boom after both WWs is because we SOLD the weapons, food, medical and other things to the people fighting. We only joined the last part and we finished it quickly.

Secondly. Panic is the cause of a stock market crash. It happened to Washington Mutual. People freaked out, and pulled all of they’re money out. It happened to a lot of banks, but more so to Washington Financial.

But then again, the news is broadcasting panic! Because that’s what they’re good at. It makes people watch TV. Which gives them ratings. Which brings in Ad Agencies which generates income. People are naturally drawn to bad things. Which is why they watch Soap Operas. A disaster gets live coverage, while a Nation Wide Fundraiser gets a 3 minute spot.

Crave: Tim Allen was Buzz Lightyear. Tom Hanks was Woody.

To which I promptly and respectfully replied “Money, sir!”

To which he promptly replied back “Not at all, it’s BULL-SHIT”

Greed, combined with stupidity, is a rather powerful force on a national or world stage. As some have mentioned bank loaners have been giving loans to people who obviously can’t pay it. Why does an 80-year old women need a 100k loan to be paid over 40 years? Did anyone think that was really going to happen?

Then we have people who build their little empires with no thought to the consequences. They treat our money like their money. While I am not nearly as vehement over the matter I must admit the author of “Akematsu” has a real good grasp on the general idea.

I’d actually be fine with the bailout idea if it wasn’t for the CEOs and such of these companies coming away from this with THIRTY MILLION DOLLARS. WTF, right? Honestly they have been criminally negligent and should be tried for economic crimes.

I rather liked an idea I heard on the radio. Instead of the bailout plan the government should pay everyone who is a citizen $50. Fifty dollars. This would be with the requirement that it would be used to pay off debt owed to these companies.

This way we would Reduce Debt, the companies would not be Bankrupt, and everything is fine. The government is still paying it, just changes who it goes to.

I rather think that’s a better plan.

Seriously, though, it’s like this. I’m in an economics class right now so I hope that makes me qualified to explain this base don what I’ve learned. We are a country that spends money it doesn’t have on things it can’t afford. Ergo, Capitol Hill decides that we should rectify the situation by spending more money we don’t have on more things we can’t afford, e.g the financial sector.

Yes, the short-sighted media is largely to blame, as are a bunch of politicians who pretend to know things about economics and history that they clearly don’t- or else we might not be in this mess. The Tom Hanks/Optimus Prime idea was good; frankly, it would probably be good if they got voted into office, though that would probably have to wait. I’m for Obama, myself, and neither Hanks nor Prime are currently running, UNFORTUNATELY. The bailout ideas are all pretty bad, though, since the economy is like a living organism that is designed to undergo change and fluctuation. It can recover from injuries and, like a healthy immune system, does better when it’s allowed to beat things by itself than when it’s replaced by medicines and languishes from lack of use. Firms and industries that are too weak to support themselves should die off, in accordance with natural selection, leaving the better ones to replace it. It’s like paradigm shifts in science: the victorious viewpoint (or firm/industry) is always better. Forcing stability can lead to disastrous results (thank you, Law of Unintended Consequences).

Honestly, though, it’s a little too late. The actually good economists have seen this coming for a while and didn’t hesitate to warn us, though the people in their foolishness were quick to silence them with shouts of “Chicken Little says the sky is falling!” Now, it seems that we’re headed to a place as bad as- if not worse than- the great Depression. It could very well be worse because in the Depression, we were the largest creditor nation in the world. Nobody ever owned a country more money than the world owed us then. Now, we’re the largest debtor nation; we owe everyone else money because of our enormous trade deficit.

People will be hoarding money and burying it in coffee cans in their back yards, a la the first great Depression, if things continue on their present course. I myself will be hoarding MREs (Meal Ready to Eat, which is basicially military rations that keep forever), weapons and ammo (because, if things get as bad as they could, civil unrest/violence/anarchy and even foreign invasion might occur), and portable water filters, like those you take camping. That’s because, if the shit really hits the fan and there’s no money left, the first thing to go before the angry mobs take to the streets will be the utilities. Googbye water, gas, and electricity. Also, out of the simple fact that we owe them everything and not out of any poltical dislike of the country (I’m a Communist apologist sometimes), China might actually see fit to invade us, serving out the international role of the repo man. Here’s hoping none of that happens and it probably won’t get THAT bad, though it’s always a good idea to have someone prepared for it, like me. Yeah, me vs. the rest of the world. I’m going to die…

So, yeah, there’s the story in a nutshell. But I’m just a junior in high school. Heh, what do I know?