How America Shot Itself in the Foot:

"The nation’s unnerving descent into debt began a decade ago with a choice, not a crisis." - Lori Montgomery.

That's right. The Bush tax cuts, extended by Obama, account for most of the indebtedness. And then there are those two unnecessary and unpaid for wars, one of which was begun with fabricated information.

Back in 2000, the nation's economy was booming and the outlook was rosy beyond imagining today. Of course, an economy that was based on a housing bubble and credit default swaps was bound to bust anyway, but it needn't have been so painful.

So why did Republicans work so hard to bring the nation to this state? Easy, Republicans find their base among those who want weak government. For them, "government" plays no part in a definition of what it means to be American.

Keep in mind that the top 10 percent of Americans remain rich. The problems with the economy haven't harmed them any more than rampant inflation ever hurt the wealthy elite in Latin American economies. When politicians like Nuke Getrich start talking about Americans needing to make sacrifices, they are not talking about themselves and the wealthy elite who own the political parties. They are talking about the bottom 90 percent.