I did not ...

... like reading this article. Why? Because it's too darn sobering.

Even according to the White House's new budget projections, the gross federal debt in public hands will exceed 100 per cent of GDP in just two years' time. This year, like last year, the federal deficit will be around 10 per cent of GDP. The long-run projections of the Congressional Budget Office suggest that the US will never again run a balanced budget. That's right, never.

More Financial Crisis Victims

Pets.

In Arkansas, Cheryl Lang, a foreclosed-property inspector, found three dogs left locked in pet carriers in the back yard of a foreclosed home. Abandoned without food or water, the animals had died.

Whiskey! Tango! Foxtrot!

I've got to admit. This crisis still keeps me up at night, and puts a nice, tight knot in my stomach. I believe I'm very fortunate to have the job I do, and I'll do everything in my power to ensure that I continue to have it. Sometimes this world sucks.

Who do I thank?

Since this time last year, the cost per share in one of my mutual funds has dropped 45%. w00t!

Fortunately, I have time on my side ... others are less fortunate. What about them?

Yay!

My Roth IRA has lost about 25% of its value in the last couple of months, and it's set to lose a bit more in the upcoming week. And who do I think should share a large measure of responsibility in this fiasco? Barney Frank, who it seems had a little* incentive to deregulate Fannie Mae.

Although Frank now blames Republicans for the failure of Fannie and Freddie, he spent years blocking GOP lawmakers from imposing tougher regulations on the mortgage giants. In 1991, the year Moses was hired by Fannie, the Boston Globe reported that Frank pushed the agency to loosen regulations on mortgages for two- and three-family homes, even though they were defaulting at twice and five times the rate of single homes, respectively.

*Maybe sarcasm isn't warranted here. Barney Frank had a huge incentive to fight for Fannie Mae to be deregulated. It's criminal, really.

If Jim Marshall were my House Rep ...

... he'd lose my vote for approving the bail out. This part of his justification is particularly full of crappola ...

Deep down, we all know that a financial rescue is necessary.

Speak for yourself Marshall, not all of us feel that way. At. All.

How about you spend less time trying to throw my hard earned tax dollars at idiots, and spend more time preventing those idiots from messing up my retirement in the future?

Depression? Not likely ...

Here is the Wall Street Journal's take on the issue. Yep, you've got to go read the story on the other side of the link.

Furthermore, U.S. nonfinancial companies have just under $1 trillion in cash on their books. Even though Wall Street is dead, innovation is not: In the months to come, clever new financial go-betweens will spring up and find a way to get that cash flowing again. It's hard to see how a depression could get under way when so much capital is waiting in the wings.

There is this as well ...

"Diversification is dead." There's an old saying that the only things that go up in a down market are correlations -- the tightness of the linkages among various assets like U.S. and foreign markets, stocks and bonds, commodities or real estate. Normally, one asset will tend to zig while another zags. But in bear markets, they converge -- and in really terrible bear markets, they move in complete lockstep.

That's what is happening now, but it will not last indefinitely. It never does. While diversification does not work all the time, it does work over the course of time. There's nothing wrong with raising a little cash if that would prevent you from panicking completely. This is particularly true for retirees. Whittle down your stock position gradually, in baby steps -- say, 1% at a time -- not in one fell swoop. And set a limit beyond which you will not go; otherwise, when stocks stage their inevitable recovery, you will miss out.

If you're like me, you'll ride it out. It's about the only thing you can do, but it's the only smart, sensible thing to do as well.

Just Say No!

To any sort of bailout. Here's why. Yes, you'll have to read the link.

The fact that government bears such a huge responsibility for the current mess means any response should eliminate the conditions that created this situation in the first place, not attempt to fix bad government with more government.

Damn skippy!

House to Rep. Barney Frank ...

... you don't know what you're talking about ... so sit down, and shut up.

I suppose I could live to regret it, but I don't think I should have to pay for this bailout of idiots by idiots.

Financial Crisis ...

If this is the case, then I say to hell with the bailout.

First, the good news: Even if warnings of economic catastrophe aren't enough to win approval of a controversial $700 billion Wall Street bailout, the economy is not at risk of falling into a depression, most experts agree.

Cost of running the government for half a year: $650 Billion
Cost of proposed bailout: $700 Billion

Interesting, eh?

The Wall Street Mess

How McCain and Obama handle this mess will go a long way in helping me decide who I'm going to vote for.