So, let me just string a few things together: (1) We, as a nation, put ourselves in debt by over-consuming. (2) Financial engineering, one of the U.S.'s primary exportable innovations in recent years, exacerbates this behavior by giving Americans ATM-like access to their home equity. Even sub-prime borrowers were included in the game because their loans could be sliced, diced, and securitized until the risks were well-contained...or so we thought. (3) This house of cards crashes, because nobody, financial wizards included, new how to appropriately price the risks involved. A global financial crisis ensues. (4) To top it all off, three people die--die!--shopping on Black Friday, a 'holiday' whose newly relevant name was supposed to bring hope to our faltering economy. We look like a bunch of idiots.

American consumer: YOU FAIL.