I would take it that the excesses of debt is the key here, with many in the situation of off loading their debt to restore some liquidity. In a nutshell the economy has classic depression tendencies, but the leaders and bankers are fighting it tooth and nail.
Unless the US sticks money into each and every person's bank account then I would take it that the US dollar is suddenly hard to come by, unlike 3 years ago when it was being pushed down the throats of the unemployed. It's very hard to obtain a loan in the US simply because the bankers doubt that the borrowers will be able to repay in the future. The more banks do that the less likely we'll see a proper recovery. They really need to work together on this one. But as it's now, they can splash money around to every person onto the street, but unless Joe Public believes things will get better than he will do the natural thing and hoard it rather than spending it on anything other than living expenses.
Too much debt, too many people willing to work, too many goods purchased from people who are exploited (China), not enough demand for buying goods and very little need for expansion in the USA.
