Go Read This

Of all places, Rolling Stone has one of the best articles on the causes of the current economic situation, right here.

It's AIG-heavy, but that's because AIG works as a microcosm of the bigger mess. It clearly explains how AIG got into this mess, gives a decent high-level view of CDOs and CDS's, and even delves into the government's role (from 1999-present) in this whole clusterfuck.

I find it a bit light in the government section (because there's plenty of blame to be laid at the feet of Dodd and Frank and others, and one could even go back decades to find the roots), but the article is largely about how Wall Street has managed to gain control of the government... but not quite as consipiracy-nuttish as that sounds.

I do think it comes within inches of making a claim that should be cried aloud - nobody knows what the fuck is going on. All these bailouts (and they're bigger than the press lets you know), all these distractions ($700 billion TARP and AIG bonuses are nothing more than window-dressing), they're all attempts to obfuscate the fact that the US is broke and crossing its fingers that this all works out somehow.