Our financial and capital markets are going to hell in a hand basket. Among other things:
U.S. securities markets have lost trillions in market capitalization;
independent investment banking firms have disappeared, changing Wall Street forever;
housing foreclosures threaten to hit staggering numbers;
bank failures have increased three-fold already this year, with more to come;
credit markets have withered and shut down;
the Federal Reserve Board has already expended nearly $1 trillion to buoy troubled banks, insurance companies, government-sponsored entities, investment banks, mutual funds, and others;
Congress authorized the Treasury Department to pump an additional $750 billion to provide desperately needed liquidity in our capital markets; and
Central ...