Mike the Usurper wrote:

What it looks like they are trying to do is let the pressure bleed off so that things that work continue to work, new things that need to be done get moving, and old things that are failed die a slow death rather than all of them dropping dead simultaneously.

The thing is, almost nothing works. Most banks are insolvent. Letting them die a slow death is repeating Japan. The American auto manufacturers are fundamentally broken. Propping them up for the next several years may weaken the importers to the point where they aren't viable, either.

Who wants a slow death? Why?

RE: Calculated Risk: Volcker Speech: Economy May Suffer for a `Long Time’