"America is going broke and the rest of the world knows it."

Thanks to CounterPunch.org for the headline above. The unfortunate thing is that while most headlines are designed to grab attention and don't always apply to the story below, this one is, I believe, right on.

Now we all know that Monday-Morning-Quarterbacking is the easiest thing in the world to do, and that most often the beer-laden couch potato rarely has any idea what the next play is really going to be. Funny thing in the game of Wreckonomics, however, is that all of us MM QBs seem to be ahead of every curve.

Today, Bear Stearns collapsed. Oh, I know... the headlines don't tell us that, but here's the headline from CNNMoney...

Bear Stearns Nose Dives On Rescue Plan

What else can you read into this? They collapsed on their own ridiculous ponzi mortgage bets.

This is on the heals of Carlyle Capital failing on the same insane bets.

The credit markets have been unwinding for over a year. Liquidity has evaporated, and the Federal Reserve has been propping up the banking system the entire time.

Of course, now that the prospects of a severe recession are evident not just to those being driven around in limosines and meeting in walnut or oak rimmed board rooms but the general publice, Martin Feldstein has this to say about it...

"The situation is very bad, the situation is getting worse, and the risks are that it could get very bad," Feldstein said in a speech at the Futures Industry Association meeting in Boca Raton, Florida.

Wake up, America. The "I want it all, I want it all and I want it now" mentality has crushed us. It's about time we admit it and prepare ourselves for tough times.

More to come.