BladRnr

Which is a Bigger Story: iPhone 3G or Tanking Banks?

I understand the US economy is very complex, but it really comes down to the fact that we left the gold standard many years ago, and what we have now is fiat currency, where the government can print as much money as it wants at will. This is driving down the value of our currency and allowing foreign companies to buy up our assets (Budweiser, for example). What we need is someone in this government to put a hold on printing paper money and stop loaning T-bills at ridiculously low rates. Do foreign governments really think we can pay these back when we are in debt up to our eyeballs?

We are at war and yet we all seem to forget that. We don't have a war-based economy like we did during WWII, where people made sacrifices. No, we want to support a war (right or wrong) and have our cake (spend like it doesn't matter). We need to realize that our government can't just spend and spend and spend more than we have in the bank. I am not an expert in the financial markets, but I know enough simple economics (Friedman) to know this is not going to be good in the long run. The government's takeover of IndyMac Bank yesterday could be just the tip of the banking industry's collapse.