What if?

[Trevor]

True, I'm just worried that it could inspire the Palestinians or Egypt to attack, both of which are in crisis eras. So is Jordan, though their relations with Israel aren't as hostile as they are with most of the Arab world. I wouldn't leave Turkey off that list, either.

Economically, we'll have to see what happens. At the very least, economic growth will be slow.

[sarahS4621]

I have a question: if the majority of people had realized in, say, 2004-2005 that there was a bubble, is there anything that could have been done? Granted, nothing could prevent a collapse, but looking back, is there anything that could have been done to soften the blow and make the depression less severe?

I don't think anything could have been done to prevent the decline in our economy. By 2004 it was way to late to make enough changes to actually make a difference and even so there was so much backlog from the 90's that there was no digging out of it this time, just as in the past depressions we have suffered through.

[Trevor]

Yeah, that's probably true. There were a few people who tried to stop the bubble or at least sound the alarm, but they were ignored, derided, or both. Matter of fact, they're still being treated that way.

[hunterG7343]

Those kind of people always end up like that. You cant't go against bigger than you, even if you have some support and your intentions are good.

[Sheldonc]

i think rather than thinking about what could have been done, we should focus more on what to do at the moment.

[Trevor]

Would be nice, but unfortunately, I don't see anyone doing so. Most of what I'm listening to is everyone blaming the blame game. All we can do now is hope we survive this.

By the way, Spain and Italy's bond yields are down significantly. Seems to be another round of politicians patting themselves on the back.