If you haven’t been paying attention to the news, the SubPrime Meltdown/Foreclosure Crisis/Credit Crunch/Credit Crisis/Liquidity Crisis/Transparency Crisis is getting out of hand.  I’ve been watching some of my sources, and they seem to think that the fed (taxpayers) aren’t going to be bailing out anyone for a little while… hence the bankruptcy of one of the five biggest investment houses, and the purchase of another.

AIG is the next shoe… we’ll see if it drops.

They could be almost as big of a mess as Fannie and Freddie.  The big difference is that the government hasn’t “always stood behind” AIG like it did Fannie and Freddie.

Coupled with the 5% drop in the Dow today (keep in mind that AIG is a MAJOR component), things aren’t looking good…

Of course, there are some good things as well.  Oil is dropping.  First time under $100/bbl in 7 months.  Unemployment is pretty low by historical standards.  Interest rates aren’t going up soon.  Inflation seems to be in check (especially since oil is looking to move down).  Productivity is also up…

Of course, to hear some politicians, everything is in shambles…  And for some it is.  But for the vast majority, it isn’t.  They just seem to want to scare everyone into thinking that they are worse off than they really are.

And without getting too political, while you are being asked if you are better off now than you were 8 years ago, ask your self if you are better off now than you were 2 years ago.  I think that the people telling everyone how they don’t get it are the ones that really don’t get it…