8. Bank Busts

Consumers and businesses are having a tough time getting access to capital. The reason is that there were 133 bank failures in the U.S. in 2009, more than any year since 2002. Larger banks avoided bankruptcy thanks to government bailouts and mergers with sounder institutions. If anything, the larger banks are even less inclined to lend money to individuals and small and medium-size businesses. As long as that scenario continues to exist the economy will grow at a snails pace and the unemployment rate will still be stuck in double digits. The federal government must figure out a way to get the banks that they bailed out to start lending more money to small businesses and individuals.

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