The Fed's Weekend at Bernie's

In the movie "Weekend at Bernie's", a couple of young executives try to create the illusion that their murdered boss is alive in order to avoid being questioned about it. They move his arms and legs and pretend he's moving in order to keep the charade going (watch the trailer).

Bernanke, Paulson, the White House and bozos in Congress like Frank and Dodd are pulling a Weekend at Bernie's with the economy. The U.S. economy is dead. America is broke. The derivatives house of cards is falling down. The credit orgy has left the banks hungover and without any money. The American people have tapped out their credit cards and are starting to live on fumes.

But the boys are borrowing trillions more to move the arms of the U.S. economy, to pick up one foot at a time to pretend that it is still moving and breathing.

It is comical. As soon as they pick up the right arm, another part of the body economic slumps . . . . and in picking up that up, the right arm falls again.

The feds brokered the Bear-JP Morgan deal, but then Indymac collapsed. They took over Freddie and Fannie, but then Lehman died. They propped up AIG, but then the money markets collapsed . . .

Pretty soon, the government will have to start playing both sides in conversations. You know, one government-operated company will "do business" with another government-operated company, so that it looks like there is commerce happening.