Three dollars for a Sunday

$1 The dollar is in very serious trouble. Even his own mom is trying to get rid of him.

$2 The money guys are starting to admit that deregulation was a very, very bad thing. Told you so--I've been crowing about Glass-Steagall for over a year.

$3 Think the US national debt is troublesome? Dig the derivatives market. It's good for about $190,000 per person ON THE PLANET.

And some spare change for a guy who maintains the best economic news aggregate around.

Available

All of these locations are on a 3.3-mile stretch of Broadview Road, which is the only major business district near my home. Click any image to enlarge.

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Some truth

Yes, I'm as infuriated by the AIG bonuses as everyone else. But I know in truth, this is a meaningless political football.

The real shame is that after the Great Depression, which was caused in no small part by deregulation and irresponsible financial conglomerates, the government put measures in place to make sure institutes that were "too big to fail" would never plague the country again. There are two ugly options when banks get too massive and blow up: you either "let 'em fail!" or you give them a shitload of money so they don't.

Over decades, the banking industry (read: old fat rich white guys) effectively lobbied Glass-Steagall and other regulatory measures into oblivion. Now I'm no economist and maybe parts of those rules and legislation were draconian and counterproductive. But make no mistake, we are in this mess because the measures that were designed to keep us out of it were dismantled over decades by greed. The Bush administration sealed the deal by putting the term "free market" on crack.

The first time around, they just went ahead and "let 'em fail!" which put us into the Great Depression. "Let 'em fail" turned out to be a real Hindenburg of ideas, people. So, while it's emotionally satisfying to shake our fists and cry "outrage!" and demonize AIG et al., fact is we own that mother.

You, me, all of us.

Hence, as part owner of AIG, I say this: Those contracts were in place before I was. I'm obligated to pay these people whether I like it or not. There's nothing I hate more than someone who squelches on a deal and, (I hate to admit it) it just ain't that much money in the grand scheme of things.

So pay up, shut up and move on.

Coming soon to a theater near you

GOP: THE DESTROYERS

SPEED! NEED! GREED!

STARRING: Rushie-poo LIMBAUGH, Category 5 PALIN, Baby Blue BOEHNER, Jingle Balls JINDAL, Stainless STEELE and Coldcocker COULTER!

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BURN before the roiling wrath of Rushie-poo Limbaugh when he can't find his earpiece!

SIZZLE as a helplessly bound Category 5 Palin begs for abstinence-only from a merciless Jingle Balls Jindal!

GASP as a leather-clad Baby Blue Boehner fights his way through 18 thrilling holes opposite a snarling Stainless Steele!

COWER before a ravenous Coldcocker Coulter as she eats kittens!

FLY with the freedom of this no-holds-barred gang as they speed over the crumbling highways of America in fully-loaded Cadillac DTS's!

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I'm working on the script. Anybody have any ideas?