Rating Agencies, Banks, Monoliners, Mortgage and Loan Companies, Brokers basically ALL participants in the financial markets would have had to change their course and behaviour long time ago to save the world economy. Of course they did not do so and put their shortsighted quaterly interests before anything else. Now everyone feels where they got us.

No cut in interest rates would have changed the behaviour shown, it would just have fueled greed and forced more and more of what got the world in deep troubles.

If anything might have saved us from todays troubles back in August then it would have been a change in laws and rules for financial markets all over the world in order to force a change in the way all participants in the financial markets act.

For that however we will sadly be waiting maybe for ever, with all governments bailing out the old managements with the old attitudes and the old ways of behaviour. Given the effects of the good old learning curve, we will be up for more of the same troubles for many more decades to come. At least thats good news for you Mr. Quest, as you can make money on reporting about it and talking about today when the next crisies strikes 20 years down the road.

Besides, what could have done? If the co-ordinated rescue plan would have been done last year, the entire credit crunch would have prevented, that much is probably true.

But in all reality, there was no chance the plan would have been approved by anyone in the government back then. Dow was 13'000+, the mortgage crisis seemed to be burning out with write downs and some red faces among the big banking CEOs and lending among banks seemed temporary problem at the worst. On the whole few loses, few banks with few dollars off their share-values.

If anyone, absolutely anyone, had gone in front of Congress back then and asked $700 bn to buy bad assets of the market so banks lending to each other wasn't interrupted, he would not have been thrown out, he would have been carted off to the funny farm.

Only thing I consider a mistake, or possibly a poor timing, was the tax rebate. That would be so much more effective right now, when holiday season is ahead of us. But again, the expensive fuel back then made it seem like a good idea from political point of view.

Still, it should have been obvious that the holiday season is the best moment to flush the consumer with cash and I doubt there is will to do it twice, no matter how good the idea seems right now. There are always those 'It didn't work first time, it won't work now' – voices.

Our dear Mr Benjamin had ample company. Indeed, you were probably the one chicken-little, who was right, to whom anyone would pay ATTENTION, in the British Isles.

Or possibly Europe.

Make that the Northern Hemisphere.

My working-class friends and those of us on Benefits saw this coming the moment Northern Rock had to be nationalised, and the price of Weetabix, and water, and everything, quadrupled overnight.

Incidentally, are you and Mr Benjamin running for President of the United States? If not, is there any particular reason for this McCain-esque finger-pointing?

Anxiously awaiting Mr Benjamin's counter-advert...

Uma
I don't worry about my finances, in the sense that I haven't any. Strictly hand-to-mouth, here.

I have been traveling in South America for weeks and CNN is my news lifeline. I was very frustrated, angry and bored the whole week after the first bailout vote when I only got on CNN a total one sided pro-bailout (in frustration I ended up mostly watching BBC world where they did give some air time to the anti-bailout and unlike CNN interviewed anti-bailout members on congress.). I would have liked to have heard your talented business presenters who seemed totally pro-bailout arguing the case with these anti-bailout advocates and discussing alternative plans.

But this week you have done an awesome job!

This is a corrupt economy and rate cuts would simply keep the game going for a little more and with even more dire consequences down the road.

What is happening now is restructuring of societies. This has to happen. Who does what and how s/he is compensated. As basic as this.

Not many people believed in this fairy tale but kept their mouth shut as long as they beneffied from it. That's why the fear got in so quickly as many knew the king was naked but only now the crowds are chanting it. People around the world vote markets out and goverments in. This is the real election.

They are putting their money where reality seems. Funny thing though, governments are equally corrupt as they were bought by the markets long ago :) Recognizing the need for social change is the number one issue for people in the next decade.

Look at this............... If you make $50, 000 a year and are spending $150,000.00 a year....... at what point are you going to catch up and pay this back? People have been living way beyond there means, EVERYONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you want to really address the problem............. this is were you start.....if you owe more than $20,000.00 in credit card bills.......... you are cut off from using your credit card till you are paid up. If you owe more, then you really need to see a debt consolidator. It sucks but it has to be done. This can not be argued over. We have built this country on credit, nothing is paid for...............its a FALSE economy.

There is NO ACCOUNTABILITY, its always someone else's fault