A truly cynical perspective: the Powers That Be and their government minions have been riding all the bubbles to the top, and now they're bailing out. It's probably convenient that blame for the fiasco go to the next administration (however irrational that is ... apparently people generally don't figure lag time into economic equations), which would mean also that suspicion of the onus is diverted from the corporatist/fascists who engineered the collapse.

The advantages to those who would bring destitution upon their neighbors in order to buy up their assets at fire sale prices ... well, who needs to say more?

I do worry a bit about other "conspiracy theories" to the effect that the dollar has been intentionally debased in order to scrap it in favor of the new Amero. That is just too good an idea for the scumbags to ignore.