President Cheney

We now learn that President Cheney wields enormous power in the economic policy of the Cheney Administration. Huge deficits coupled with outrageous spending have created a nation of debtors that will pass on to future generations the debt of a "free market" economy.

Banks have made big profits built on unsustainable credit policies. Mortgages to credit challenged individuals has led us to the current situation. Banks are writing off billions of dollars in sub-prime loans that they had been more than willing to provide while the housing bubble was being built. At some point reality had to set in and the result is now being seen, and more importantly, felt by a wide range of Americans.

What is of greater concern for most everyday folks is the value of their home. When they perceive that they are unable to get the same returns that they expected, they retreat into their cave. The fact that the housing prices had reached a level that fewer people could afford hasn't seemed to dawn on homeowners. The only reason that many folks could afford to buy that expensive house was that the credit was available through the sub-prime market. 

All of this is being felt while we watch the dollar fall, oil prices increase and the continued erosion of  American manufacturing and, increasingly, the outsourcing of white collar jobs.

It is the economy, stupid!