For anyone seriously interested in uncovering and addressing the underlying causes of the current financial crisis I strongly recommend reading "The Price of Greed" in this month's issus of Time magazine.  It is spot on and concise in its analysis of derivatives.  Specifically credit-default swaps and collateralized debt obligations.  I do not intend to trivialize all the good that the former Fed Chief did for our economy but why did he not intervene when he saw these derivatives being used to manipulate the real estate market?  This is serious and it should be reviewed.  He couldn't have honestly believed this was healthy for our economy.  

15% tax FOR  EVERY BODY- TRUMP,GATES,FORD,G.M............

congress and senat max. 8 years in,

president of U.S.A. must pass sample math test.

N-Girl, that makes three votes for me. I got another committed back during primary season. Some body really good at math help me here...If the remaining vote needed for me to win are my "deficit", how much further ahead am I than the U>S govt is on it's deficit?

I 'ts kind of hard to live within your means when you only bring in $2,000 a monthand you have to pay $1,200 a month for medical.this is what the company I retired from did to me.You tell me N-Girl how you become debt free when after u pay your utilities insurance,real estate taxes where i'm going to get money to eat.wake up and smell the roses.The rich get richer and poor get poorer so we need to lower the taxes more on the rich so they can pay for my food.you all need to get your heads out of the sand if u think lowering taxes on the rich is going to make your lower class life better.duh duh duh make me sick.

Voting out the waste makers won't solve the problem because there will just be another one to take his/her place.  

Unfortunately the people who should be in government positions will never be there because they don't have enough money and power to run.  

The other day I read an article on MSN money that said that 50% of Americans make less than $32,000/yr.

People in that category who are not in debt (exception of mortgage) could be potentially the best candidates because they live within their means.  Maybe they could eventually get this country to the point where it can live within the means of the people.  

Bring on the depression.  It won't be easy but if the government would let the people who took the risks take the losses too the ones of us who are responsible could finally get our dues too.  House prices would fall to the point where that bottom 50% of wage earners could afford to buy a decent house.  

HEY, THERE IS ALOT GOOD SUGESTIONS OUT THERE BUT THERE'S ONE PROBLEM.

LET'S QUIT TALKING ABOUT IT AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. VOTE THESE IDIOT'S OUT OF OFFICE AND GET RID OF THE ELECTORAL VOTE.

Where did the money go? The Oil Co.'s have pocketed the money. They are not spending it. They have bleed the country dry. In spite of the high prices people still buy fuel first and leave the loans on houses and credit cards fall by the wayside. We need to get to work,that takes gas. Now with the bailout we will pay again and the Oil Co.'s will set on their billons. If they gave back their profits we could clear up this mess. Won't happen.

4434, a depression is inevitable. 80 years of government intervention on behalf of companies that get themselves into trouble has guaranteed that unhealthy institutions have survived, and THRIVED on handouts that come from us.  I think it was H. L. Menchen that said "The end result of protecting men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools."

Since the bailout is going to happen, despite the protests of, if not a majority at least a lareg percentage of Americans, it should be applied on the principals of TRIAGE, helping the healthiest businesses survive. When the others die off, they will be ibn a good position to grow into the roles vacated by the diseased.

Federally appointed positions are supposed to act in the best interest of society as a whole and should identify market manipulation and hedging as tools of greed not investment.  Also, what really stood out in my mind was the fact that the US govt dumped 5 Trillion in debt from fannie and freddie onto tax payers but the media sensation and the public outcry from the more recent 700 billion bailout caught and still holds our attention.  I hope this doesn’t offend anyone but people who took Cramer serious about pulling out of the market actually did the right thing for serious investors.  His show is purely economic entertainment…at best it is a Wall Street version of WWF.  How could anyone take him serious?  His recommendations are reactive, flavors of the minute.        

Cherobee, a large part of the money NEVER EXISTED!!  Money is an expression of value and value comes from PRODUCTIVITY. The economy has been artificially inflated by the housing boom. THIS WAS NOTHING BUT A SCAM, a boilerplate opperation on a vast scale. Even bigger than the junk bond scandal of the, what was that, early 90's? Enron, etc. etc. The same kind of fraudulent business practices.

Essentially,  many of these mortgages were monopoly money, securities that weren't worth the paper they were printed on, but were traded as if they had real value. "Give me $100 real money now for $100 in monopoly money, and I'll give you $110 real money later."

Some people managed to get VERY rich by pretending to be richer that they were. Who are they? They are hidden by a thicket of lawyers, lobbyist and political privelege. No meaningful criminal proceedings will take place. Anyone who goes down will be a patsy for the true villains.