> > Is there any means through which the current crisis could have been averted > or delayed by state policy or is it an 'unavoidable' consequence of capitalist > production? > Jerry, The SEC having turned a blind eye to the inflation of profits through accounting tricks such as the hiding the cost of options and the false recognizing of revenue (seems to have been rampant in the software industry) seems to have been an important reason why many borrowed against the equity in their homes to buy US securities. Such borrowing seems to have been staggering. Whether this debt overhang now prevents lower interest rates from serving as a stimulus through mortgage refinancing remains to be seen. Rakesh
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