I agree with everything you said Coach and have been talking about this with friends and family for well over 10 years. This screw the savers and hard workers and save the bad actors/debtors through corporatism (fascism) simply has to end and will leave scars which may never heal on the present socialized free market model.

I have always anticipated a drop upwards of 25-30% in US standard of living before all is said and done and see nothing to suggest otherwise at this point but I do remain open to the US waking up and re-invigorating it's entrepreneurs, fixing it's total system but time is ticking and the longer they wait to fix what ails them the harder it becomes to do. This would require a huge shift in present thinking and real leadership and I see none of that today.

A shift back to real free market principles is the only viable solution I see and one of the prime tenants of this is any entity that fails should have the viable parts salvaged and the failed parts, including the people running it, gone!!! No pawning the debt on to citizens backs while robber barons walk away with huge money and politicians are funded to the tune of billion dollar slush funds to run for President or after cushy jobs upon plotical retirement. And certainly no more conflicts of interest in those running government agencies like ex-Goldman or JPMorgan employees. The wall between government and corporate sector needs to be raised backup to at least some credible level and this goes for unions as well (they were gifted GMotors in total violation of existing law) and should also apply to special interest groups of all kinds.

Bottom line for me is the US can print more money than most can possibly imagine for longer than most think and get away with it but hard assets (both actual and equities in my view) will be there to benefit those smart enough and tough enough to stay the course.