Davy Jones' Bank

Hey kids, it's economic metaphor time again!

If you're captain of a sinking ship that doesn't have enough lifeboats for everybody on board, you basically have two options.

Option 1: Declare women and children first and get them off the ship. Of course, to accomplish this, you must first consign yourself to an agonizing descent to the crushing black depths of Davy Jones' Locker. This is what leaders used to do, back in the day - sacrifice themselves for the good of others, unless they were, you know, the president of the shipping line, then they'd dress up in women's clothes and sneak aboard a lifeboat.

Option 2: Tell only your friends and business partners that the ship is going down and quietly lower the lifeboats in order to avoid a stampede. Meanwhile, you pretend the listing decks are only temporary and hope the ship will stay afloat long enough for your pals to float away. Then you and a couple of mates launch the captain's yacht and laugh at all the suckers clinging to the rail as the ship slides beneath the waves.

Clearly, we're in option 2 territory now. There's just one problem - all the other ships are sinking, too. Nobody to come to your rescue. Now you're in the middle of a cold dark sea a thousand miles from shore with nothing to eat but your fellow survivors.

Bon voyage! Let's refloat the bubble.