The banks and investment firms, housing and mortgage, the automakers. Today's headlines have the steel industry lining up at the public trough for a handout. Their message is more simple and straightforward than the others though. Their message is only this: "Buy our product"

They want your tax dollars, and what loans they can leverage, to be spent on building projects such as bridges and public buildings. They're turning to the public sector to spend our way out of this economic downturn.

This news is as revealing as it is scary.

Revealing, in that it's plain to see the economy hasn't hit the bottom of this chasm yet. Scary, because at some point there may not be money enough to bail out entire industries.

Why is that scary? Because if it gets that far the choices for many will look very similar to those of third world nations.