I don't know if any of you've read The Crash of '79 by Paul Erdman. It's about the oil shocks of the 70's. The book was published in 1977. I read it in 1978. After all the sunburns, fishing trips, hunting trips, vacations to Blue Lake and occasional Margaritas that have occured since 1978, it's amazing I still remember this book and it's story line. (The bad guy was the Shah of Iran. There's no more Shah, but there is a bad guy in Iran. BTW, the Shah had secretly built up nukes. Sound familiar?) It's almost like life is copying art thirty years later.

Today was an eye popper if you occasionally peep at the DJI or S&P 500. I am nine years away from "retirement age". But if I were one or two years away, I would be sweating. I am a know-nothing programmer, a simple citizen without access to any special information. I contend our Treasury, the Fed and the muckity mucks on Wall Street have really messed up our economy, in ways that are un-thinkable. I'm not saying run for the hills, but, you should strive to marshal your tangible assests and avoid debt like it is the bubonic plague. This country has been run on credit and finance for the last twenty years as an illusion to productivity and prosperity. The bill is coming due.

Death of Fannie, Freddie Only the Beginning