Reply #74: The problem is that the consumer market in the US will sink with it

[Warpy]

and a depression in the US is going to be a worldwide depression, as all those countries that persuaded CEOs to let them loot our industry will suddenly be deprived of their largest marketplace as the consumer economy is shut down here. People will do what they did the last time: hunker down, buy just enough food to keep them alive, learn how to patch clothing and put newspaper in walked-through shoes, live in cold houses and be thankful that the roof keeps most of the snow off while they try to barter everything they managed to get in order to satisfy creditors.

Yes, this house of cards is going to collapse. I don't think anything can stop it now, it's just gone too far. The earlier we can get this mess re regulated and the tax code back on a rational footing, the shorter a depression will be. Unfortunately, government is always reactive and I'm not sure either of the remaining candidates has a particularly fast reaction time or decent enough grasp of the history of boom and bust cycles to do what is necessary.

So yes, central banks do have a very serious stake in what is happening in the US. Whether or not they'll be able to force the hand of a new president to do what is necessary remains to be seen. Just the threat of floating the Yuan against the dollar should be sufficient, but one never knows.