The Great Economic Train Wreck: When America Went Off the Rails [Paperback]

We tend to think of dominos as standing the tiles on end and then tipping the
first one over, toppling into the second, which falls into the third until
finally all the dominoes have fallen. In 2008 the first of many financial
dominos began falling. Many were worried and looked to Washington for
leadership. Instead, we saw only politics-as-usual. But as 2009 and 2010
unfolded, it became too benign to suggest our stricken economy was simply
toppled dominos. It was more accurate to describe our condition as an
economic “train wreck.” The financial chaos as a result of the crisis was
heightened by an extraordinary government intervention to triage the
shattered economy. Many feared, with justification, that we may be teetering
on the brink of this generation’s Great Depression. The near-death experience
the U.S. economy has suffered forced Americans to turn inward and question
our leaders. Our worries have multiplied. Our free market system and
ultimately the “American Dream” itself now seem more vulnerable than ever.
More importantly, we doubt ourselves and our leaders and long for our
life-before. This is a book that chronicles the unfolding disaster of our
nation’s financial “train wreck.” For two crucial years, Kevin Clark had
broadcast financial analysis that became a play-by-play of the economic
collapse. Now, with hindsight, he revisits recent history and brings what he
calls a “Main Street” perspective of this most critical moment in the modern
life of America.KEVIN H. CLARK, a Senior Vice-President with Raymond James & Associates, is a weekly contributor for Midwest Communications, Inc. in Western Michigan. Kevin has his investment practice in Holland Michigan and additionally serves clients from the Naples Florida branch.