Those graphs sure look scary; but if you see the scale, it has an amplitude of only +50 to -100 Billion $. Large though that is, it is still tiny compared to the size of US Economy (15 Trillion $). Trusting the data to be true, it looks as though much of US economy is like a house built of toothpicks. A trillion $ banking system collapse can easily push us over to Brazil/Argentina type of meltdown.

For sake of comparison, the current Iraq War Bill requested by President is $108 Billion. Of course, it will be entirely borrowed as Federal budget is already in deficit even before that. The Stimulus Bill was about $150 Billion. Also entirely borrowed! This year’s Federal deficit will probably set a record above $600 Billion.