Since home equity is the largest source of wealthfor most Americans, young households were especially hard hit, as many are now underwater on their homes.
Some members of the public joked about wearing masks and goggles to brave the incense fumes and smog to pray for blessings from the God of Wealth, an especially popular deity during Chinese New Year, the newspaper notes.
Four cents on the national wealth "dollar" for safeguarding our freedoms at home and interests abroad hardly seems excessive -- especially since we have generally spent a far higher percentage of GDP for these purposes since the end of the Second World War.