Insatiable consumption

"From consumers to government, we have become a society of over-consumption. The federal government over-consumes and will continue to do so under either an Obama or McCain administration. State and local governments over-consume, many running substantial deficits. And individuals over-consume. We have gotten away with this insatiable consumption due to the massive wealth of our country, built up over decades of American ingenuity and hard work. But the party can only last so long."

"Now we face mounting competition from countries like China and India. While we are busy consuming, they are busy investing and developing. So will the bailout work? It will be a very expensive and embarrassing band aid on a financial wound that could have caused massive disruption in our economy. To that end, I believe it will work. But what it does not address is the financial cancer that has been growing in our country since the 1980s. And with the political pandering to the middle class that we call presidential politics, I expect the financial cancer to metastasize, if it hasn’t already."