.....or -

"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."

Wilkins Micawber (David Copperfield by Charles Dickens)

(Translation into new money! £20, £19.98p/£20, £20.02p)!

Either the rulers must be philosophers and men of letters, or philosophers and men of letters must be the rulers; if this is not the case, than happiness cannot be expected for the State or mankind.

Plato (The Republic).

(Translated by  MorioninTurkey)

 Because this is the first time that it has become global and it is close to a depression.

 Plus... living within your means becomes irrevelent when you are faced with no job - the situation that many face this morning as more companies in the UK closed yesterday...

 Very true and very sad.  And when these big bankers take their fat cat bonuses for actually cocking it all up, think about the cleaners on the minimum wage, scraping by, who will be the ones who will suffer. 

I´m with you all the way on this one WT  

 Pity some of Bushes cronies didn´t get the same advice  then we (the world) would not be in this mess now.

 Crikey!

elephants kicking and ants to be crushing....

I think individuals who put thousands of dollars on credit cards at high interest rates for goods and services they don´t need are responsible for this mess as well as the fat cat bankers and business men. 

I know SO many women who go out and buy a new wardrobe every season whether or not they need it.  Or what REALLY burns me up.....a woman who makes half what I do who buys 10 Coach bags with matching shoes but can´t pay her rent!!  This mindset is why corrupt CEOs get away with what they get away with.  We are too busy filling our own closets with useless crap to notice what these people are doing and then we say...shame on the politicians! 

hummmmmm.......I think we as a society need to be a little more responsible. 

I agree about irresponsible borrowing ..... however this is NOT the cause of the current crisis and actually does contribute to a healthy economy!

Nah, I am afraid governments (especially policies that were adopted during the Thatcher/Reagan era) and the banks are the only ones to blame ...

I didn´t say individuals were responsible but I did say that while we were all busy shopping, these companies were able to steel part of our future with the governments help.  When people are content and have all their nice "things" they are blind to what is really going on.