I often hear people say, Why does US owe so much to China .

It's a combination of things in that country that factor into the staggering dilemma we're facing in the U.S.

First, China is a nation of savers and frugal spenders - complete opposite of modern-day America. Flush with all that cash, China has channeled so much of that money to invest in the U.S., much of it in the form of treasury bills.

As Peter Schiff of Euro Pacific Capital points out : Although the $50 billion loss engineered by Madoff is truly a staggering accomplishment (and was done using old-fashioned fraud rather than the mathematical wizardry that has characterized Wall Street’s recent larcenies) the size of the scheme pales in comparison to the multi-trillion dollar Ponzi structures run by the United States government.

We all know what has got us into this financial mess. Freddie Mac, Wall Street executives, real estate agents, irresponsible individuals buying things out of their income range - it's fun to point fingers at these people, but they are all scapegoats. Pawns. Each one is an opportunist in their own world. If there's a way for each one of these groups to make money or get what they want (a house for example), they will. I guess the same could be said of our politicians.

There is a reason these bailouts are not working to restore public confidence in the financial system. Its because there has been no explanation on how banks and financial institutions will conduct business differently in the post-crisis era. Americans realize that there needs to be some changes in the way the banks and the financial system works. Currently the faith has been shaken.