Posted this elsewhere, but it probably should go in this thread:
Couple of graphs to consider with respect to US debt:
Here's a link to some expansion on the first graph:
http://www.elliottwave.com/freeupdates/archives/2008/04/15/What-Does-Debt--Buy--For-the-U.S.-Economy.aspx
...and then this one:
In the first, you can see how the trendline projected a rough date when further investment in our economy would no longer get a return on your money. In the second, you can see that the recent injection by the Fed has hastened that date to... today.
Please note that while certain periods (read: presidencies) caused relatively minor fluctuations, nothing has actually stopped the downward trend (although you can see an interesting downward perturbation resulting from Jimmy Carter's time in office and a flattening during Reagan's). This actually suggests that there's another controlling factor that seems not to have been identified in virtually all public discourse on the subject.
Also, don't try to read too much into the noise patterns overlaying the basic signal. Different theories abound, but the Elliot wave principle seems to be as good of a theory as any other.
If, after pondering the material above for awhile, you still don't get it, we'll see if we can get our resident genius to explain it to you.
Dang... I just bit a hole clean through my lip...
