1. Will USA survive the present crisis?

That depends on what you mean by "survive." I believe the US has been damaged a great deal by bad leadership in the past seven years under the Bush administration. Ties with other countries have been severed or at the very least fouled, mostly because of the insanity of the two wars we wage, and particularly the bogus reasons sold to us for invading Iraq. The American people, for the most part, have lost confidence in almost every aspect of our government, first and foremost, our president. Thus, this economic crisis comes at an extremely dangerous juncture. I am extremely worried.

2. Is the present crisis inherent in US system?

Not sure what precisely this question asks, but I can say that this country, as a free market, capitalist society, was built on the concept of credit. It was once the case that a small bank used depositors' money to make loans to other folks. The money stayed in that bank, and the institution was responsible for all transactions. What transpired, of course, directly due to the Reagan administration's deregulation policies, were loans that were bundled and sold many times over. Reagan had proposed that wealth would "trickle down" to the majority of us who need it, if banks and other financial institutions were deregulated and allowed to operate the way they wanted. Well, this simply did not happen. What did happen was many institutions operating under the "greed" factor. No trickle down there for sure.

3. Is enhancement of war expenditure a reason for the present crisis?

Not entirely. As Al Gore says, we borrow from the Chinese to secure oil from the Middle East by waging war there and with that oil we pollute the planet to extinction. Every bit of that has to change.

4. What can be the way out for the USA? Is a sort of governmental interference a remedy? Or is it a turning to values that is required?

I'm honestly not sure whether the recent governmental take-overs make sense. The whole thing is so bloody confusing, to even the most informed, even to the economists. Overall, I feel we need to shift emphasis on some major issues--"values" seems a slippery word in this context. For example:

Get rid of the lobby system, which is nothing more than legal influence peddling.
Reform election procedures, so that our candidates run on their policies and beliefs, not on how much money they raise.
Limit the time candidates can spend campaigning.
Mandate that eligible voters register and vote.

You get my point. We need solutions to the larger issues too, as we tackle the immediate economic ones. But I'm not sure that's possible anymore.

Pam Bernard
PO Box 963
Walpole, NH 03608
603-756-4177
pam@pambernard.com
www.pambernard.com

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing
is a field. I will meet you there.
—Jallaludin Rumi