The Only Thing We Have To Fear Is... Oh SHIT!

As I write this the Markets (EVERYWHERE) are in TOTAL Meltdown.  The Credit Market (especially Short Term Loans) are FROZEN like Lake Erie in the Depths of The Ice Age.  We're talking GLACIER LOCKED.  We might not want Global Warming, but the Banks sure could use some thawing! 

Got a 401K?  Forget it.  It's toast.  Around 50 % down from the peak last year (about this time).  September 29th was labeled Dark Monday.  That day is the largest point drop in the Dow on record:  -777.68.  Today it took another -650 Kick in the Nads.  Yup, it's ugly on Wall Street, boys and girls.  Very, very ugly.

Your Mortgage?  Possibly worth less than your remaining loan.  That's called 'Being Underwater' (and drowning).  If you live in California, Florida or other high-speculative markets you might as well mail the keys to the banker, buy a Harley with the remainder of that retirement fund and hit the highway, hobo style. 

We are talking Recession today, Depression tomorrow and Hell is on it's way, pronto.

What's an Average Joe Six Pack going to do?  He hopes his job is there week by week.  He hopes he can keep that job, there are rumors flying that layoffs are being considered just to meet payroll.  Joe is nervous.  He even wonders if the Bank will cash his check next Friday.  Or even if the Banks will be open.  He doesn't even want to know what his house is worth right now, he's scared it will be too shocking to hear! 

Where's Franklin Delano Roosevelt when you need him?  Where's the heroic actions that right this sinking ship?  What will stop this rollercoaster that's hell bent on diving to the center of the earth with the entire world riding it?  Where's Franklin damn it?  Where is the Leadership to  restore calm to the Markets?  To be sure you can sense the CAPITULATION of the die hard investors (SELL! SELL! SELL!  THE FUCKIN' SKY IS FALLING! SELL!)  ... but ... will it finally BURN OUT ... SOON???  We're at 8,500 and change... with no bottom in sight.  We will very soon freefall right past that nasty 9-11 mark... 7550.

Baron Rothschild  is screaming BUY! THERE'S BLOOD IN THE STREETS!  BUY LOW! BUY NOW! But the Knife is Falling and who in their right mind wants to catch that?  Dead Cat Bounce anyone?  There but for the Grace of God go I. 

Will we have a Recession?  YUP. In fact we've been in one since... well, for quite a few months now.  Perhaps not Technically (2 successive Qtrs of negative GNP).  The real question to ask in THIS FINANCIAL HURRICANE is Will we have a DEPRESSION ... perhaps even a GREATER than the GREAT One?  It's certainly possible.  It will seem strange, but I suppose the Great Depression looked pretty weird to the Roaring Twenties crowd too, eh?  Soup Line forms behind me, buddy.

We're bailing out the Banks and other odd ball Financial Houses (Casinos).  We basically mortgaged our future, our grandchildren's future and perhaps our great-grandkids as well. The Debt Clock BROKE today!  It went over $10 Trillion and the clock didn't have that many digits.  May you live in interesting times, indeed, Confucius.

The Japanese, seeing our pain have a strange sense of deja-vu.  They sigh and tell us this is just the tip of the iceberg we're about to ride.  At least Iceland doesn't have to worry about Global Warming.  Their country is already in Meltdown Mode!  Our Institutions are shaken to the CORE.  And there's an election on the horizon!  One of the candidates is a terrorist, we're told, but we're not sure which one. I also saw a show on the Science Channel that was warning that we are pretty much at the Limit of Moore's Law.  And that spells another kind of Financial Meltdown.  But not to worry cause there's bound to be an asteroid with our name on it before then, right?  Murphy (of Murphy's Law) must be laughing his butt off at us mere mortals right about now.  Got Antichrist?

Meanwhile the Mother of All Wars grinds on in Iraq & Afghanistan.  North Korea is acting all bellicose, but that's just par for the course.  Iran is all smug and sassy.  Fuckers.  Even good ole Russia is getting it's Bear On in the Woods of Georgia.  Yes, the World has gone INSANE these last few weeks.  ABSOLUTELY BUGGERS! 

Don't look here for answers, Joe.  Do I look like Franklin to you?  Me?  I'm just driving back and forth across town to work and home... at $4.00/gal.  I'm just a smuck like you.  I'm scared and if you aren't ... you're just uninformed or slow.  We'd like to yell at someone, anyone... STOP THIS!  We want to blame someone, anyone... but we know in our hearts... we're all guilty.  The Rich, The Poor (who took that easy credit to actually own a home, but they knew it was beyond their means to pay or else they were gullible).  I'd like some Fat Cats to go to Jail, but, truth be told, what would it solve?  Hopefully we (Congress) will get to the bottom of it all... the Investigations could get pretty ugly.  Hell, they already are ugly! AIG, LEMMING, err, LEHMAN BROTHERS 

Main street and small business will likely survive.  I'm drawing an analogy between this Crisis and the Mass Extinction of the Dinos.  Jon Stewart opened his Daily Show by laughing to his audience 'clearly they haven't seen the Dow today' (down another 650, 6th day in row of triple digit losses).  Headline on the Daily Show: Clusterf#@k to the Poor House.  But back to the   Dinosaurs.  Small furry business (mammals) are the only ones that are likely to be nimble enough to survive this Financial Implosion (sorry, that's the closest I could come to an Asteroid Impact Analogy). 

Next week we can 'look forward' to more of the same it seems.  The good news?  The Dow only has 8,500 to go! Oh wait, that's not good at all.  Shrug.  Brother can you spare a dime?