The simple truth behind this economic crisis: people can't pay their bills

[Bread and Circus]

I'm kind of weary of all this bullshit about the "subprime mortgage scandal" and credit swap doowackadoos...

That's all cover and mumbo jumbo to hide the simple fact that Obama has been repeating over and over: people can't pay the bills. When you work 20 years at a factory and work up to $16 an hour job, lose that job as the factory goes overseas or down south, and get a new $9 an hour job with worse benefits, you can't pay the bills. Once we reached a critical mass of people who have had similar misfortunes, we can't pay the banks and keep the cash flow going. Like Obama says, pain trickles up.

For a while, people figure out how to rob Peter to pay Paul, but eventually they hit a debt wall and then they fold.

The bailout might be necessary to stem the hemorrhage, however it will only delay the inevitable. We will just transfer the borrowing on a personal level to further borrowing on a national level. The taxpayers aren't going to pay for the bailout, well at least not now...if anyone pays it off they will likely be our children or grandchildren. We already operate at a budget deficit. So, the bailout will be paid by more borrowing (from the Chinese and Saudis - surprise, surprise).

Unless we get to the root of the problem, which is 30+ years of worsening trade deficits, declining manufacturing, and declining access to cheap energy....we are fucked.

I hope Obama says as much at the debate.

[Cronus Protagonist]

1. That's been my experience too

Not enough cash to go around any more. However, I do think that the last few years have been floated on people refinancing their real estate investments and now that that source has dried up, the cash that used to be there simply isn't any more.

[Bread and Circus]

2. bingo...

[lutherj]

3. Exactly. There's really no way out of this mess. Everyone keeps talking

about how our children will be stuck paying our national debt, but the truth is it's doubtful they would pay it even if they could. They'll be dealing with environmental crises and energy deficits, and the last thing they'll care about is our debt. We're heading into uncharted territory here. Sooner or later the national debt and personal debts will all be irrelevant.

[EC]

4. And that this has been going on for quite awhile now,

people seem to forget that Kerry/Edwards have been talking about this since 2004, meaning it's been happening since Bush took office...

[Bread and Circus]

5. bump, because y'all are fucking stupid....

I keed...I keeed....