51 trillion total debt

The Perfect Storm – Our Great Depression
by Jim Quinn

"Gentlemen, I have had men watching you for a long time, and I am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country. When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter, I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin! Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves. I intend to rout you out, and by the eternal God, I will rout you out."
~ President Andrew Jackson 1832

…..A President with a backbone and moral compass would be telling the American people that our bankers have ruined this country and have caused the coming deep recession. He would explain that it is a painful lesson that must be faced now so that future generations would not have to pay for the sins of today. Instead, he urged the American people to support an $820 billion banker bailout which will attempt to push off pain far into the future….

…The most recent flow of funds data shows that total credit market debt is $51 trillion versus our $14.3 trillion GDP. Debt as a percentage of GDP is now 356% versus 260% during the Great Depression of the 1930’s….

. …The conclusion that I reach when looking at the vertical takeoff of debt in the early 1980’s is that this country has been living a lie of false prosperity. The huge McMansions, luxury cars, high-tech gadgets, granite kitchens, 2nd homes, and exotic vacations were purchased with debt….

…The Catch-22 of our current economic system is that if everyone in the country lives within their means, the economy will collapse. The spending of money we do not have is what has driven our "Great" country for the last three decades. We can always count on Government to not live within its means, so deficit spending will continue and most likely accelerate. But, consumers have been dependent upon the stupidity and recklessness of banks, credit card companies, retailers, and auto makers to help them live above their means. This part of the American Dream is lying in shambles….