Nail, meet hammer:

Overall, we’ve got the most speculative economy in more than 100 years. Americans have embraced a culture where a cash settlement derivative contract is considered to be a solid investment vehicle and where opaque complex structured assets are sold to public pension funds. There’s been a complete abandonment of prudential rules and guidelines, a process led by the Congress and aided by federal regulators. As a nation, we’ve come full circle since the financial crises of a century ago. Today we have a financial system that has little personal financial discipline and massive moral hazard, where the taxpayer is picking up the messes created via private speculation. …The competitive position of the U.S. economy and our ability to employ people is eroding fast. The growth prospects of the U.S. will be hampered because our people are less and less able to afford basic necessities like housing. We’ll see growth in the Southeast, which has benefited from industrial relocation by Japanese carmakers, and in the Southwest, because of the growth of trade with Asia. But look at Ohio and Michigan–we’re going to see large areas of the US being depopulated. The industrial heartland is going to be a sad place to be. American corporations will do fine, profits will be good. But it’s going to be a very tough environment for consumers and the average American.