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I read the title of Lou's article first. I read the comments next. I finally read the article in its entirety. I don't think Lou is wrong in anything he says or any of his conclusions, nor is Kenneth, Sean or Jorge in my opinion. Deciding who is right and who is not is like deciding which came first, the chicken or the egg. All these factors feed one another in a vicious circle and have been for at least 30+ years. At the end of the day, trade deficit, lack of savings (thus import of capital), swelling money supply and national debt all feed one another. The Fed does not print money because it wants to, it does because it has to as last resort. Oil companies import oil because there is demand at the gas pump. Banks loan money competitively as long as the supply has not dried. In my opinion, the problem rests with the Federal Govt' who has the responsibility and authority to maintain a stable, growing economy. The problems we face today were predictable and avoidable but Washington has not acted when it needed to. Lou once referred to the Fed (Federal Reserve) as a figure skater. The Fed has been skating around the Government's actions (or lack there of) and may not be as graceful as one would like to see but should not be blamed for the current state of affairs, specifically the devaluation of the dollar. The policies which led to the unsustainable deficits and credit supply should be.