August 2009 Comment: The government has handed over hundreds of billions of dollars in bailout aid intended to ensure the survival of corporations deemed "too big (i.e., too important) to fail," even though the present vulnerabilities and failings of these same entities have been largely brought upon themselves by their own missteps and strategic imprudence.

Meanwhile, the number of our unemployed population has been quietly growing (officially reckoned near 10%,) affecting households one painful job-loss at a time.

To the out-of-work individual, "too small to bail" psychologically translates into "too small to matter," that is, until Congress feels the need to begin pandering for votes during the next election cycle. Expect an escalation of budget-busting social programs in 2010, and more monetization of the debt by the Federal Reserve as the government fails to find anyone else willing to buy its tidal wave of bonds.

Stay tuned... "too small to bail" may take on a whole new connotation next year as our titanic economy begins to sink beneath this man-made flood of increasingly worthless currency and IOUs.