The U.S. banking system is essentially insolvent. The Treasury, Federal Reserve, FASB, and Congress are colluding to keep the American public in the dark for as long as possible. They are trying to buy time and prop up these banks so they can convince enough fools to give them more capital. They will continue to write off debt for many quarters to come. We could have a zombie banking system for a decade.

How can our government lie to us like this? Well, unfortunately, we got the government we deserved. We put a higher priority on the pre-fab faux rich McMansion lifestyle, complete with 3 car payments, 4,000 square foot estate, 52 inch plasma tvs and lavish vacations, all on a family income of $65,000, than on electing a government that wasn’t interested in doing the political groundwork necessary for making millions of these pipe dreams a temporary reality.

The next several years (or decades) will be us paying for these mistakes. I’m afraid the good times are over.