[org.whodat]

Consider what this mess has already cost taxpayers: $29 billion to buy the rotten paper of Bear Stearns so J.P. Morgan would buy the investment bank; $85 billion for 80 percent of AIG to nationalize it; $150 billion in a stimulus package to flood the nation with cash; perhaps $300 billion to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; and now $700 billion to begin taking the toxic paper off the hands of America's big banks.

The stench of wall street and investment bankers.

[atomicweeder]

The only solution I see is a massive innovations in energy and healthcare, so that the rest of the world will want to buy American stuff again. It's like when you are afraid of losing your job so you learn some new skills that make you desirable again.

But for that to work, it has to be coupled with huge spending cuts -- no more mortgages to dead beats, massive reduction in social programs, etc. And we also need to get rid of labor unions.