Just how much is our capitalist system worth?

[kentuck]

To you personally and to our nation's survival as a capitalist nation?

Since it is now reported that we have spent $8.5 trillion dollars in an attempt to save it, how much more is it worth to any of us? The $8.5 trillion dollars is a reported 60% of our GDP. What if the bailout comes more than our GDP? What happens then? Is that a line of demarcation which we should not pass??

Would it disappear? I'm sure it would in its present manifestation. But what would remain? I'm sure some sort of financial system would remain, community banks, local banks, and many state banks. However, some of these large international financial conglomerates would cease to exist. Would that be a bad thing?

[gristy]

1. One thing I know is that the pain of pissing $8.5T down the toilet is going to be

far greater than if we had simply let the economy go through its DTs for a period of time and only then follow up with a more reasoned and much less expensive rescue plan.

There will be hell to pay for that $8.5T

[Warpy]

2. If anything good comes of it

that will be the waning influence of the Pentagon. We can no longer afford the military industrial complex, they're breaking us.

Empire will simply have to fall to somebody else's rich people.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Given how much was SPENT LAST TIME AROUND I am not surprised

or shocked