re: #8 ggt
It would be good for you to read This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly as it is the only economics work in existence that is based on fact vs. speculation, opinion or ivory tower thinking. It will provide a stable benchmark to calibrate your own personal bull shit detector which should serve you well.
We have been in uncharted waters financially for well over a decade. 2008 was a wavelet. The tsunami is on the way. Oh! But this time is different?