Everything, franchie? Not at all.

You eat strange things like cheese and andoille and organ meats. But mostly the problem is that you French think far too highly of yourselves. You think of yourselves as the leaders of the world when that role rightfully belongs to another far more deserving nation.

Modesty forbids me to actually mention this deserving nation's name.... ;)

I'd say a better comparison might be that in the US it's an emergency net, while in parts of Europe it more closely resembles a hammock.

I lived in Italy for a while, and knew many people who retired omn a pension by age 50, and went on to another career many of them.

Andrew, I rather doubt that ANYONE will be pursuing greater liberalisation after this. Decidedly including the US.

So that is not the point at all.

I do understand the impulse toward schaudenfreud, gloating, 'you broke it you bought it', etc. But it adds up to "you're on your own" in the end. At least it does to date.

The point I'm making is that the US has been bearing a lot of burdens which people and countries around the world have come to take for grnted. So what happens when the US either cannot or will not bear those burdens any more; or has to or decides make choices about which ones to bear?

People have been predicting the end of the hegemon for decades; this crisis brings that vision into sharp relief. Time to begin thinking about what (if anything) is going to replace the hegemon when the US decides to lay down it's Superman cloak.

"Exactly. To me, it reinforces the point that the prophecies of the end of the Hegemon are overblown. This too will pass, though hopefully we will be more willing to listen to arguments for stronger regulatory oversight and a more transparent financial sector."

How would you - or anyone - know? I'm not going to argue that the international order should somehow try to prop up the US in it's current status as the sole superpower - that won't fly politically for good reason.

But it is time for people internationally to consider what will replace it. It's time for the people in the US to consider what roles which no longer make sense for the US to play - and to pay for.

"I wonder what people said during the 70s stagflation and during the 80s Savings and Loan crisis?"

You are way underestimating this crisis. This one is a full-blown market failure crisis with the potential to replicate 1929-32. It's also not unlike the early 70's except that it's global. But not (to this point) like stagflation. Stagflation is what we might have gotten instead of a crash.

One more thing, PE ratios. That is Price-Earnings ratios of common shares. For about the last 20 years these have been way high, maybe at 32 (share price divided by trailing earnings per share) The 2001 crash brough this down to 24 or 25, still way above the historical mean of about 15-17. The latest debacles have dropped it to 17 - average. It's not unlikely to go further down, wiping trillions more off of global net worth.

Right now I'd say that if we get stagflation we might be - lucky. Stagflation was bad, way bad. But it was better than 50% forecolsure on mortgages and "Brother can yoiu spare a dime".

The road to hell takes many paths.

I agree that a 30's style depression is probably unlikely, but there are other ways to have depressions. I suspect we'll inflate our way out of the current one, which leads to the possiblity of a 70's style stagflation but on steroids. Perhaps even a hyperinflation although we'll probably stop short of that. We could have a Japanese style no-growth decade, or perhaps something like the depression of the 1870s with labor and farmers pushed to the wall, with labor strife, etc.

One thing I'm pretty sure of is that if we take a $1 trillion hit it will mean little or no investment in infrastructure, which means we'll fall further behind in wealth creation. We may not be rich enough to reform other things which need reform. And all so we can keep on putting on side as the Superpower for the sake of people who have no appreciation at all for what that means and what it is worth.

No thanks. They can go to hell in their own way. I will not sacrifice my country's long term good for Europeans - or indeed any other foreigner.