What is wrong with the USA?

Right now, the USA is not in jeopardy of default, or mad-max scenarios.
But the USA is NOT in any way-shape or form looking good. A 5 or 10 year recession/depression grows more likely with each government mis-step.

Why? Because the US is facing a wide array of serious financial issues, and to date, the USA's answer is: Give money. Don't force leadership & change on those businesses.
The US government mirrors a rich family enabling their son to be a loser by throwing money at him hoping he gets his act together. Pathetic.

This article turned into rant, rather than reporting facts, read at your own risk.
Give who money? The companies that are doing great? Give them the cash to take over and manage the companies insolvent? No.
Give money to companies that are in trouble, but enforce international accounting practices, and enforce the companies change core operations? No.
Or how about let companies fail, and subsidize the transition to the remaining solvent companies? No.

The companies given money are to the SAME corporate management and investors who lead the company to the point of INSOLVENCY. When you give companies hoards of cash it isn't a credit crunch, its a "Holly CR*P, we woke up and our bank told us at NO % would we ever consider loaning money to you.".

Sure, the government asks for "Strings" like stock, interest in the company under the storyline so the taxpayer would get their money back. Who the heck believes this? And where does this take us? What happens when the government OWNS 20% of fortune 500 companies? 40%? 80%?

The reality is CAPITALISM (Evolution in the business world) can work, let the weak and stupid fail, let the smarter feed from the carcasses and improve business by leveraging their successful tactics.

General Motors has lost in the last 8 years about 70 Billion dollars. (3q 2008 2.5b) GM is at it's heart the worst of the democrat old-school pandering meets the worst of republican corporate corruption. It's the poster child for the sickness in America. What does GM want? Money of course! But they are willing to give the government warrants in exchange. Ask the million+ investors if they could go back in a time machine and sold GM stock 2 years ago or get warrants? Come on! Where's the "this time we'll do good" plan? And even if they come up with a plan, why now will GM finally get it's act together?

So will America, the land of the free, and the home of the brave (timid?) allow GM fail. No way in hell. This company will turn into the USA's version of Airbus.
But of all the companies with their hand out, I'd rather see all of them not get a dime, and rather help GM. But in a way that GM gets broken up and the government preserves what it can of pensions. With the core GM company smaller, future "pieces" can fail without it being a disaster.

Whether its GM, AIG, CitiBank, CountryWide, Merril Lynch, or the dozens of companies I have lost track of, throwing money at them will not make them good companies. My blog will continue to report company after company, state after state, needing the taxpayer to foot more.

Only Death and rebirth of these companies will create fundamental change.

And without that fundamental change, this downturn (which isn't even a recession yet according to the US government) will turn to a long and deep recession, and history 20+ years will name a depression. Why?

Trading debt from private to debt to public solves NOTHING. It only weakens the US government. And that, is not good nor patriotic. If you want the US as a country to be strong, it's gotta get tough and kick that drug-addict son out, pay for rehab maybe, but he's gotta learn to walk on his own.

For Added fun, here is 30 minute video explaining how bad US debt is, a shortened version from IOUSA movie.


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