Unfortunately, living beyond ones means simply is not sustainable in the long run, yet we have entire industries, notably the automotive industry, that have a business plan that requires it. The only thing that was keeping this evil genie in it’s bottle were the regulations, many put in place after the end of the Great Depression, that were systematically dismantled by both the Clinton and Bush administrations. Without regulation, the system ran wild, there was trillions to be made, but at a cost, which we’re living through right now. For every boom, there comes a bust and this bust is massive.

Obama can try to put the cork back in the bottle and go back to the way things were before Clinton, but that’s political suicide, people have gotten used to having a new car every other year, the latest plasma TV, the newest toys and gadgets. Telling them they can’t have them if they don’t make enough money is a fast way out of power. So he’s trying to shore up the system and get the credit flowing again, just pushing the problem off until the next administration when it can fail again.