The size of America's economic woes has finally made an impression on U.S. policymakers. In the past week they have moved to restore stability and liquidity to financial markets, cutting interest rates and engineering financial mergers.
Unfortunately there is little relief for ordinary citizens whose assets have shrunk as real estate values plunge and stock markets dip. Stability is critical but so is confidence, and the United States must do more to restore the faith of its citizens and staunch their financial losses.
It has been an ugly year for the U.S. economy. Just recently the dollar hit record lows against the euro — according to one estimate, the euro zone briefly overtook the U.S. as the world's biggest economy before the value of the dollar rose again — and the yen/dollar exchange rate fell below the ¥100-per-dollar mark for the first time since 1995.
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