I may have oversimplified this, and I know I didnt take a lot of other factors like the bad business decisions in the housing market and car manufactures into account, as well as americans spending money well over there means, but this keeps running through my head so Im gonna post it up for fun I guess..... start) Gas prices rise to double of what we've been paying..... 1) people have no extra money to buy other goods and services. 2) companies around the usa start raising prices because gas prices went up, and they want to keep profits the same. 3) Compaines start laying people off because the sales of their goods and services are down, gee I wonder why, thats what happens when you raise prices on an ecomomy full of people who already dont have enough money to buy gas. 4) More and more companies start laying people off because their sales are down even more. Well this is snowballing now, because the more people companies layoff, the less employeed people we actually have in the economy to purchase products and services. How about companies that are failing; I say FIRE their CEO's, instead of giving them bonuses when they are going bankrupt, I find no justification for some of these GM and Bank CEO's which have filled their wallets fat with bonuses and raises, ect, while bankrupting their companies, get those losers out of there, dont give them a dime in bailout money, let someone else run the show.