$7.3 trillion in debt downgraded in past 10 days.

(2 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

I keep telling you guys, what I know about economics you could write on the back of an envelope and still have room for a tediously long and grievous lamentation for an old buddy.  Even so, as I divine the sweet breads, the numbers seem impossibly large.  The yew that nets my dreamless head is this table showing debt ratings’ downgrades in the past 10 days:

Of course, “downgraded” doesn’t mean “worthless.”  Who knows?  It could be worth 100%, 75%, 50%, 25%, or 0%.  Who really knows? But $7.3 trillion is a metric assload of debt to be downgraded in 10 days during a “recovery,” which WTF are they talking about anyway?  U6 unemployment is at 22%.  These data are from Martin Weiss, who has more to say, but the short version is “dominoes all the way down.”   Soon.

Marking that crap to market now will not prevent a crash (would likely precipitate it), but only prevent us from going even deeper into needless debt for their sins.  Mark that garbage to market!  Instant karma.

Others, such as Ian Welsh and Stirling Newberry, rather see another “lost decade” due to “Japanification,” but these are somewhat dated views, and I don’t know if they reflect their current thinking.

I’d prefer Obama-style Japanification,

to catastrophic debt deflation, but I lean strongly toward the latter catastrophic direction.

Big Update!

Bank of Sophocles downgraded despite best efforts!

Greece’s Bank of Sophocles was downgraded by Moody’s to triple Omega with a negative outlook, despite the bank’s best efforts to avoid the pre-determined outcome of its actions, running right into the teeth of the Fate it had hoped to avoid by running.  Mothers were fornicated.  Fathers were killed.

In other news, Karl Rove asks Occupy Wall Street to place his head on a pike next to Blankfein’s.  Keep it up, dumb ass!