no donuts.

Highly recommended.  We don't produce anything anymore, we are not earning anymore and our population is stabilizing.  Right now, the only place worth making investments is 'emerging economies'.  But there are two problems with that:

1. The world is shrinking.  We are running out of places that have a fairly educated society that is willing to work on the cheap.

2. The earth only has so many resources.  There is no way that 6 or 7 billion people can live like the 300 million in the US.  There isn't enough oil, metal, etc. to allow that.

I can explain the crisis pretty simply--too much debt and not enough real money.

One bank lends money to a person to set up a business.  That business starts selling product to another vendor and gives the vendor customer payment terms.  Those vendors sell product to consumers who pay with credit cards.

Then the bank needs money so they call in the debts they are owed.  But the business tells them they haven't been payed yet either but they are owed money.  They call in their debts and are told the same thing.  Eventually it works it's way down to the consumer, and surprise surprise, the consumers have maxed out on debt and don't have two real nickels to rub together because real wages haven't risen in years and they're spending everything they have and more just to get by.

That's how the depression started, and it appears the same thing is going on right now.  Sounds like these dumbfouded columnists should pick up a history book.