Nick!!

Nick wants a lender of last resort for Europe, and uses the American example.  The American states don't have a lender of last resort, what they have are unsustainable state pension obligations which they are in the process of fixing.  The Fed has stated it has no intention of bailing out the states.  The US is not an example, there is more lending of last resort going on in Europe at the moment.

The Federal government of the USA performs two functions, the mandator of last resort, the tax distributor of last resort and sometimes does interest subsidies of last resort.  But to use the US as an example, you would be better to point out that the major states in the US are just as bankrupt as the European periphery.  The difference is that the states, having no lender of last resort, will restructure sooner than the European periphery.