Fiscal alarm bell

A key thing to bear in mind in the current financial crisis is that the U.S. government can only stabilize financial markets if it itself is financially sound. Hence, as David Walker argues in the Financial Times, "Washington Must Heed the Fiscal Alarm Bell":

The US government truly is too big to fail. However, there are disturbing parallels between the factors that led to the sub-prime crisis and the deteriorating financial condition and fiscal foundation of our federal government. These similarities ought to ring an alarm bell for Congress and the presidential candidates. The question is, will they hear it and wake up?

If there's one lesson we can't take from the current crisis, it's that government is now too busy for tax reform, entitlement reform and generally getting its own house in order.