The follies of the US economy just make me want to cry and am not even a citizen. Am sure you've seen debt addicted Bush out in Saudi Arabia dancing with a sword with one of the Royal Princes, and heard of the economic stimulus package which would lead to a $800 payment for each family member meant to bolster a dire economic picture, a picture which a few months a go was 'solid' according to the administration.

In fact both events are connected, Bush is in Saudi Arabia to make sure the Saudis will still supply oil, currently hovering at $100 per barrel, in US dollars, while at the same time lending back to the US to allow spending to continue, as well as bailing out Citibank and Merril Lynch out of bad sub prime market exposures by acquiring large chunks of both. Currently nearly 3 trillion of US debt is foreign held by Saudi Arabia, China and Japan.

The stimulus package is meant to bolster economic activity by way of increasing consumer spending, but with many home foreclosures, credit card debt and making ends meet that isnt likely to happen. What will happen is people will pay off bills or go shopping, shopping for imported items since nothing is made in the US anymore, thus zero economic stimulus to the US economy but much for those of China and Saudi Arabia.

Import purchases means the US dollar will be devalued even more by foreign currency markets, so the Fed has to restore the power of the dollar by upping interest rates, so your credit line that you used to payback your mortgage just got larger, so you're fucked even more so then before. Not even mentioning that a stimulus package only adds to the $9 trillion dollar debt already faced by the US.

The US economy is like a crack addict unwilling to take the large step towards addressing the base of the problem, addiction to high cost energy source of oil. Letting the banks suffer for their predatory lending practices by letting them collapse without bail outs. Increasing taxes on high fuel consumption vehicles, increasing taxes on corporate activity. And ohh I don't know.. end the fucking war? 

Mike Whitney makes succint points :

 Remember the $2 trillion wars (Iraq and Afghanistan) that could be paid for with “unfunded” tax cuts to the rich?

 Remember the cuts to capital gains and corporate taxes that were supposed to “trickle down” to working class Americans creating more jobs and making us all more prosperous?

  Remember the low interest rates that were supposed to create Bush's “ownership society” that, in fact, generated the greatest speculative frenzy in real estate in American history?

 Remember Dick Cheney's brusque assurance that, “deficits don't matter”?

  Remember the myriad corporate giveaways, the lavish “no bid” contracts, and deregulated subprime shenanigans that were supposed to “grow the economy” and strengthen our markets?

  The system is failing because it was designed to fail. The impending economic crisis is no accident, but the predictable outcome of deeply flawed policies that are thrusting the country towards a 1930s-type catastrophe.  Still, even disaster has its brighter side; like watching the most-reviled, least-credible President in American history try to stop a crashing market with his miserable offers of “cash rebates”.