Clipped: Don't Cry For Me, America.

The global origins of our current mess were actually laid out by none other than Ben Bernanke, in an influential speech he gave early in 2005, before he was named chairman of the Federal Reserve. Mr. Bernanke asked a good question: “Why is the United States, with the world’s largest economy, borrowing heavily on international capital markets — rather than lending, as would seem more natural?” -- Paul Krugman, New York Times, January 18, 2007.

I keep bringing this up because I think the current condition of America's economy is worse than anyone is willing to let on. I work for a large super-regional bank, and none of the stuff coming down from on high for 2008 indicates a problem. Trusting CEO's to speak the truth has never been a wise move though.