The economy and the financial system

[FarCenter]

In the economy people buy and sell goods and service, including making capital improvements. The economy is necessary for day to day living.

In the financial system, people make side bets on the economy. It is basically a casino filled with gamblers.

The size of the economy is about $45 trillion / year for the world GDP.

The size of the financial system is above $200 trillion, principally in derivatives and similar unregulated contracts. Each day, upwards of $5 trillion in payments are made to settle trades (i.e. the daily "handle" in the casino).

We need to put bariers between the economy and the finacial system so that the gamblers in the financial system casino can't wreck the economy.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

1. Exactly right. I posted earlier that I think we need to quarentine the insolvable part of this mess

from the solvable which is the unregulated derivatives. I suggested possible creating a new exchange where the Monopoly money players can be separated from the rest the rest of the economy that deals with real goods, products,services,and legitimate credit swaps where one has actually invested in the underlying bond, etc.

The casino part of the system (the OTB for Wall Street) needs to be killed off and outlawed.