On the Meltdown: "The phrase 'the fundamentals of the economy are sound' have been uttered so often, by so many top leaders, the very phrase is cliché. The fundamentals were not sound. The fundamentals are the rubble we must pick through to find a place to rebuild."

On the Stock Market: "How can there be any confidence when there is no day of reckoning for failed business models? From the most powerful hedge fund trader to the simplest home owner, there is no reason to believe anything in the markets will work as advertised. There is no pool of speculators willing to risk their capital because lack of market discipline removes the foundation of every investor's decision to part with their cash."

On the Recovery: "When government rewards the incompetence of fools by letting them live to trade another day, a viral infection comes imbedded in whatever limited recovery is forced to happen. The sacrifice required by letting the building burn to the ground and rebuilding from the ashes is just too difficult for the entitled generation."

On the Bailout: "We will endure years of economic hardship for a bank welfare program to pay for their negligence. And we have that gnawing feeling that the bailout is not really to recapitalize banks so they can feed us mortals more credit (which we're trying to quit anyway). The more likely reality is that the bailout money is really meant to reimburse wealthy investors for lost equity."

On Fixing the Economy: "The road back depends on where we plan to return. The last two runs of prosperity, the dot-com boom and the housing boom, were both based on financial illusions. You would think by now we would have had enough of that. Apparently not. Long entrenched ways of thinking are not that easily undone. We're still looking for the easiest possible fix. After three decades of prosperity financed by deficits we are waking up to the reality of having no margin for error."

On Wall St: "The failure of US financial markets was bigger than the failure of deregulation or laxity of mortgage lending standards. At its core was a massive, collective failure of morality."

On the Deficit: "We rode a wave of prosperity purchased on credit, and everyone owns a piece of that. Our politicians didn't talk about the deficit because we didn't."

On the Experts: "These so-called experts that rise up through the system into positions of power may be very smart and talented. At what, I don't know. Don't necessarily bet though, that they have a better grasp on reality than you and I. Anyone in a position of power who claimed the economy was sound in the three months leading up to the meltdown should be ashamed of their ineptitude."

On Income Inequality: "Between 2000 and 2006, 70% of income gains went to the top 1% of earners. A robust recovery will not happen until the working class and middle class feel comfortable again."

On Stimulus Spending: "Yes. it will make the deficit much worse. But, even if we can't pay it back, at least now we will finally be borrowing money for things of lasting value instead of just instant gratification. It's a start."