Print More When the Chips are Down

Somehow, this does nothing to bolster confidence. An article announcing a toxic asset plan is near completion is presented with the above photo (strike #1) and this little summarizing tidbit about how it's all supposed to work:

The administration has put forward new programs to deal with mortgage foreclosures, expanded efforts to bolster lending to small businesses, launched with the Fed the TALF to unfreeze markets that support credit card, auto and student loans and also begun a so-called stress test of the country's 19 largest banks to make sure they have sufficient resources to withstand an even more severe recession.

The banks are bogged down by more than $1 trillion in bad debts (strike #2). A person could not count that much money, printed money, in one lifetime. Right there in black and white is the thing closest to the truth of the matter: We're facing an even more severe recession.

Not to worry. When the chips are down, the solution is to print more money (strike #3). Yep, that'll solve all the problems. (You're out!)