The New York Times has an article about the U.S. view of how to handle the financial crisis and German Chancellor Angela Merkel's approach. The whole article is
here.
The crux the matter is stated quite well in one paragraph.
At the heart of the debate is the question of how far governments must bend to the power of markets. Mr. Obama sees retaining the stability of markets and the confidence of investors as a primary goal of government and a prerequisite for achieving any major changes in public policy. Mrs. Merkel views the financial industry with profound skepticism and argues, in almost moralistic fashion, that real change is impossible unless lenders and borrowers pay a high price for their mistakes.
To rephrase it, Obama wants to protect Wall Street and the Bankers and keep them whole. Merkel wants to share the pain so it is not just the public that suffers.
Neither of them will get us out of the current situation or avoid the coming downturn. Both are trying to preserve the current financial power structure which is at the root of the problem. Until the books are cleared of all the worthless assets, and meaningful controls are in place and enforced, our economies will continue to deteriorate. Clearing the books means wiping out the stock and bond holders in these financial institutions - Obama's base.
I will only mention in passing the need for criminal prosecutions that are being actively avoided.
We, the 99%, to use the current term, are in for a very long difficult ride until significant changes occur either in our leadership's thinking or our leadership changes.