Table of Contents
   Forewordp. xiii
   Acknowledgmentsp. xvii
   Introduction Bailout Nationp. 1
   A Brief History Of Bailoutsp. 7
      A Brief History of Bailoutsp. 9
      The Creation of the Federal Reserve, and Its Role in Creating Our Bailout Nationp. 13
      Pre-Bailout Nation (1860-1942)p. 21
      Industrial-Era Bailouts (1971-1995)p. 33
      Intermezzo A Pattern Emergesp. 45
   The Modern Era Of Bailoutsp. 51
      Stock Market Bailouts (1987-1995)p. 53
      The Irrational Exuberance Era (1996-1999)p. 63
      The Tech Wreck (2000-2003)p. 75
      The Backwards, Rate-Driven Economyp. 89
      Intermezzo A Brief History of Finance and Creditp. 101
      The Mad Scramble for Yieldp. 105
   Market Failurep. 117
      The Machinery of Subprimep. 119
      Intermezzo A Memo Found in the Street: Uncle Sam the Enablerp. 130
      Radical Deregulation, Nonfeasancep. 133
      Strange Connections, Unintended Consequencesp. 149
      Moral Hazard: Why Bailouts Cause Future Problemsp. 161
   Bailout Nationp. 173
      2008: Suicide by Democracyp. 175
      The Fall of Bear Stearnsp. 185
      Dot-Com Penis Envyp. 195
      Year of the Bailout, Part I: The Notorious AIGp. 203
      The Year of the Bailout, Part II: Too Big to Succeed?p. 211
      Intermezzo Idiots Fiddle While Rome Burnsp. 226
   Post-Bailout Nationp. 229
      Casting Blamep. 231
      Misplaced Faultp. 251
      The Virtues of Foreclosurep. 263
      Casino Capitalismp. 273
      Postscript Advice to a New Presidentp. 287
   Notesp. 297
   Indexp. 315