There are probably as many theories as to why the stock market collasped as there are economists. At the moment there are only two things certain. One, nobody knows for sure how to fix it. Two, I am a firm believer in the axiom that those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. In this case history tells us what not to do and perhaps how to fix it. In the depression of the '30's, Hoover made the first mistake and raised the tariff thus killing our participation in foreign trade. Then Rooseveldt raised taxes and the FED finished it off by cutting the money supply by 1/3, both steps effectively removing funds from the private sector thus killing private businesses. In 1938 the U.S. became the arsenal of the world. Money from overseas poured into the economy. Factories tooled up and the economy took off again. This is not the time to raise taxes or diminish the money supply in any other way. The direct opposite is required. Money has to be supplied to the private sector, not the bg commercial banks. the American worker must be put back to work, not so much by government but by private enterprise.