big banks

Common sense and self-preservation tell you not to tangle with wounded animals; you're liable to get bitten... or worse.

And when that animal happens to be, say, nearly all of the "Too Big to Fail" banks in the country, everyone can get hurt.

That's exactly what's happening now. As you'll see, it resembles nothing less than a hungry snake eating its own tail, or a financial catch-22.

They benefit from central bank support, but the central banks are dangerously raising their risk profile. They thrive on capitalism, but competition is killing them. They need smart regulation, but they're getting tough regulation instead.

These are all serious problems that, by accident and design, are setting the global economy up for a system shock that will rival the financial crisis of 2008.

Make no mistake, these banks need to be curbed for our good, but that needs to happen in an orderly, systemic fashion.