The American economy and the capitalism system responsible for building this great country of ours is in crisis because our "leaders" have failed us and continue to fail us. Our "leaders" fail to recognize that the American people are critical to the economy's success. American's innovative spirit, freedom to contribute ideas, and dedication to outstanding performance contain the only successful solution to this economic crisis.

Our current "leaders" did not build this great Country. "The work of 55 men at Philadelphia in 1787 marked the beginning of the end of the concept of the divine right of kings. In place of the absolutism of monarchy, the freedoms flowing from this document created a land of opportunities. Ever since then discouraged and oppressed people from every people from every part of the world have made a beaten path to our shores. This is the meaning of the Constitution." 1

Our "leaders" in this new century have been conditioning us to rely on them to take care of the American people at the expense of our Constitutional rights. The Declaration of Independence was the promise; the Constitution was the fulfillment. Our current "leaders" propaganda of reliance on government solutions has our economy in a deepening crisis, one that when combined with their recent solutions, has America poised for an unprecedented collapse of its capitalist system.

Financial institutions and government "leaders" convinced government regulators, then the American public, that the primary component of global economic greatness is that financial firms and financial markets must be allowed to self-correct and self-regulate. This concept is today universally accepted by financial firms as standard operating procedure, and by the American people as the "beginning of the end."

Before, during, and after financial institutions achieved their goal of self-regulation, all of the involved parties sought out unregulated investments, deregulated credit markets, repealed laws, and "legally" created both unregulated financial industries and "innovative" financial investments. An ensuing spiral of bad decisions with grave consequences should not have been hard to foresee. Not foreseeing it allowed them to maximize their legal plundering of not only America's financial assets, but assets of foreign investors as well.

The global perception of American financial markets allowed for the human failings of greed and arrogance, but believed financial firms were competent and created financial instruments for "valid investments" containing acceptable risk/return ratios. This global perception of "investment validity" was an illusion created by financial firms. The most catastrophic loss for Wall Street, financial firms and financial markets was the exposure that these new and "innovative" financial instruments never contained "validity".

Reality is that the American people have been victims of an incredible and unconscionable fraud that ripped the heart out of their economic system. There have been previous "bubbles" and "Ponzi Schemes," but never a financial fraud the scope of the "Easy-Money Boom" America just experienced. I. Government Response to the Collapse of America's Financial Markets President Obama signed into law the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009, on May 20, 2009. The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) is a ten-member commission with the goal of investigating the causes of the financial crisis of 2007-2010. The purpose of the commission is "to examine the causes, domestic and global, of the current financial and economic crisis in the United States." The deadline of December 15, 2010 has been set for providing "a report containing the findings and conclusions of the Commission" that shall be submitted to the President and to the Congress. Final reports of commissions of this type always contain the standard items: political correctness, absence and cover-up of relevant facts, insufficient legal power, amazement at extent of fraud, research never read, and findings rarely used. One thing is certain, the issuance of the report will ignite the start of political posturing, spin, denials, and the process of determining the individuals for the required roles of "scapegoat." The Commission's report, like almost every report of its kind before, will not lead to any meaningful changes of behavior. This is because the entire financial collapse was the consequence of deliberate actions of the "leaders," government regulators, and financial institutions entrusted with America's financial system. The current dilemma for our "leaders," government regulators, and financial institutions is simple: they have absolutely no idea of what to do next. The millions of dollars necessary to finance the countless hours required to prepare this report by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission can be saved, because the conclusion is five words:

Greed Arrogance Loss of Discipline

Regardless of what our "leaders" told the American public about their fiscal policy for 2009, their actions revealed the truth about their primary concerns. America's "leaders" concerns were preventing a Great Depression type run on the nation's bank deposits, replenishing the FDIC cash reserves, severely limiting all commercial bank lending to increase banks capital reserves, and expanding government's role in all aspects of our financial lives.

Government officials' actions allowed and sanctioned commercial banks using "Troubled Asset Relief Program" (TARP) money to purchase assets of other commercial banks, as well as, the actual commercial banks themselves. TARP money also financed the purchase of former investment banking firms by large commercial banks. Preventing bank failures was the number one priority. However, fiscal policy did not include commercial banks lending money to the American people then or now. The actions of our financial and government "leaders" that reflected self-interest (greed), self-importance (arrogance) and the agenda of special interest groups (loss of discipline) are documented history. However, in the 18 months since the 2008 collapse of financial markets, these same actions have continued into 2010. Americans must have loans for investments in their communities, the primary purpose banking institution charters allow banks to operate. Financial confidence results from a belief that financial firms and their employees are competent and honest. These character traits form the trust that investors require to invest in our financial markets, the places where investors provide funds through financial institutions to corporations. Trust in properly operating financial markets is the most important component to re-start investor confidence that valid investment opportunities are available in American financial markets. Now in 2010, there is absolutely no trust or investor confidence in any of America's financial markets. The proof is that all of America's credit markets remain dormant except for the conforming mortgage-loan market, only operating because the U.S. government is buying these conforming mortgage-backed securities. The only way to prevent the continued deterioration of our economic system into a "Second Great Depression" is to...