And can go more than a week without at least one 100+ point swing.

As has been noted before, some of the biggest single day gains ever recorded on Wall Street occurred during the heights of the Great Depression (along with some of the biggest single day declines). The market is operating on pure emotion right now. With traders widely overreacting to any news, good or bad.

That if we truly want to get the budget under control we have to #1 CUT MILITARY SPENDING, which accounts for around 1/3rd of the budget. And #2 get control over spending on medicaid and medicare which account for a sizable check of the remaining budget.

Until those two items are on the table the budget will crisis will NEVER be solved. All the things people like to scream about (foreign aid, NASA, NEA, education, earmarks etc etc) account for barely 5-7% of the budget. Killing all of them would be utterly meaningless.

But hey at least we get to make fun of volcano research.

Interest rates kept BELOW inflation rates were one factor driving people away from savings. When a basic savings account doesn't even keep up with the inflation rate than people are driven to riskier 'investment' strategies. Exposing ever broader segments of the population to the volatility of the market.

Stagnant wages (or raises that don't keep up with inflation) decreases net income and disposable cash. More money has to be spent just treading water each year leaving less and less money available to save.

Massive inflation in housing prices forces even relatively conservative people to go deep into dept just to buy a home. Increases in healthcare costs (more and more dumped directly on the employee) further drive down disposable income. Add to that inflation that means more than half of a family's budget goes to food, shelter, transportation and other basics where 30 years ago that number was closer to 25-25%. More and more Americans rely on credit cards to make basic purchases.

Is it any wonder nobody can save anything in the modern economy. The system doesn't leave enough money in our pockets to save. And what little is over gets sucked away by inflation.

Income is income regardless of source and it should ALL be treated the same. Lower rates on investment income rewards only those poeple who can afford to have investment income. Which leaves the other 85-90% of country out in the cold with no way out.

Contrary to what some imply the vast majority of people getting screwed by the present economy did not go out and 'buy more home than they could afford' or if they did it was only because there WERE NO AFFORDABLE HOMES in the overvalued market. When more more than 50% and in many cases 75% of household budgets go to basics like home, food, transportation and education where 30 years ago 20-25% of household incomes went to such expenses the middle class gets squeezed out.

No money left for savings (and the only decent return on savings requires going to riskier and riskier investments) and an increasing reliance on debt (home equity etc) just to buy basics and keep even from year to year.

Quick primer on how earmarks work.

Congress allocates $5 billion to the Department of Interior. An Congressman than comes along and tacks a note unto the appropriation saying '$500k of that money needs to go to beaver management'. What that means is all the congressman is doing is indicating how money ALREADY ALLOCATED will be spent. Even if the earmark is removed the Dept of Interior will still spend $5 billion. The only difference is, someone in the executive branch or at the department level makes the call for how the money is allocated.

Earmarks have ZERO effect on spending levels. All they do is direct already allocated funds.

This entire arguement is STUPID and MEANINGLESS.

It distracts of from the where the real money is spent namely military spending, medicare/mediciad and Social Security. Until all THREE of those items our put on the table there can be no serious discussion about controlling the budget.

If there is a 'recovery' as Bernake predicts it will be much like the 'recovery' of 2002. A recovery in corporate profits only. There will be no significant jobs creation. Real wages for the average American will continue to drop. The US is on a fast track to thrid world status.

By keeping interest artifically low for so longer (under the rate inflation for a while now) the Fed effectively crippled its ability to 'manage' the current crisis. They are basically out of arrows. They have reached the point where they are literally giving free money away to the banks without getting anything in return.

And if T-Bills are indeed the next bubble the pin will be when China is forced to start selling off its reserves to fund its own stimulus to keep the illusion of progress going. And then things are going to start getting really ugly.