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The main reason that our economy is in trouble is that too many people are spending money that they do not have and will never get. Borrowing money from China to fight an unnecessary war in Iraq makes about as much sense as mortgaging your house to buy a jet-ski. Wall Street is basically people sitting on rented furniture risking other people's money on Ponzi schemes.
Real wealth cannot be made without producing a product. The people that we elect to protect us have facilitated shipping all of the manufacturing jobs overseas. The mortgage market meltdown precipitated the stock market crisis. How can anybody buy or keep a house when there are no good paying jobs?
The mortgage market dealt with real property which still has some value, and its collapse pales in comparison with the coming debacle from the immenent failure of synthetic financial instruments. Bailouts will only compound the felony by causing rampant inflation. Below is a link to a glossary of financial terms. The definition of "derivatives" is listed shortly after "dead cat bounce".
