Breezhnev: I have very little faith in the USG. However, as FLU accurately points out, we’re in Hail Mary mode right now. They are the best of the bad choices, which makes them better than the worst choice. We don’t have any real good choices in here, do we?
That being said, I’d rather execute as much of a controlled hard landing as I could, in hopes of avoiding a crash. I recognize that, as FLU also points out, we’re burdening future generations as a result, but it’s a better choice than letting the wheels come completely off the wagon. Again, bad choice is better than worse choice.
And, just out of curiosity, what the heck does the stock market being approximately level to 1997/1998 have to do with systemic risk? I would look at the size of the derivatives market (versus 1997/1998) and the rise of “shadow banking”,