The advantage to being poor is that when the whip comes down, you stay sane while those who've been living in the bubble of runaway wealth falter and freak. That's now gotta include the inept deciders in the oval office, as evidenced in this statement by the US Secretary of the (now defunct?) Treasury. "Henry Paulson, assured the public they could remain confident in the 'soundness and resilience' of the financial system. He reserved the right to bail out struggling firms but said: 'We don't take lightly ever putting taxpayers' money on the line to support a financial institution.'" After the Bear Stearns bailout, who does he think he's kidding here? No, i think finally they're starting to lose it and another debt-dependent war isn't going to solve the problem.