Of course you want an update

Steven, and art and I have had some comments on their respective blogs....

Let me say... financially these have been interesting times. I know most of you are busy "Mowing your lawns"... and God bless you, for keeping the Machine running.

I can't for the life of me, Go into what went on this week. I try and read the local paper, to figure out how things are playing to the local business audience.

Most of the Financial industry, have known for 2 years how messed up our financial system was. Everyone has done everything they can to get our politicians to "Get their Heads out".

It takes threats to the system, and for a politician to look at his/her 401K and watches them get sucked down to awful levels... It tends to sober them up. Stop them from acting like Children, and get to work..... Will the solutions be Crude... yes, Will it help.... We can hope.

To explain the complexity of the "problem" or "problem assets", is beyond about 90% of the financially educated. Many, like myself understand it only in rough brush strokes. I don't know if you remember a few years ago, when we all received credit card offers in the Tens and Twenties Every day. Or had some telemarketer, trying to get us to open a credit line, to the limits of our ability to pay..... Well Many of us Did Lie to the telemarketers. And many purchased homes, as "investments" that were much to expensive for them to be able to afford... This is the problem. Wall street was complicit in opening credit to people, who couldn't pay it back. And the problems are as large as the number of people who irresponsibly borrowed money for the past 5 years, and can't pay it back.

Finance and banks, are a confidence game. markets can adjust to many things, But sometimes. "Sudden shocks" Can completely upset the system.

I have no idea if anyone reades this stuff, and my ability at 4:20 am when I'm typing this up, to Explain it, or to try and calm people. Is limited.

This is what I think you all need to do:

• Make sure that if you have a bank account with more than $100K, Feel lucky, and make sure that you have it in an FDIC insured institution, and anything over 100K, you need to put in a separate FDIC insured institution.(NOT JUST ANOTHER ACCOUNT, in the same bank)
• If you are having financial trouble, you need to deal with it. If you can't make payments Call the bank and ask to "work it out". And don't open more credit to pay off old credit.
  
• Relax. Many people are worried about "Wall Street" Bail out. I like our treasury secretary. What I like is that in past times, we would have just Bailed out AIG, FANNY, FREDDY, LEHMAN BROTHERS, and soon GM, FORD. What is incredible, is that each time our government "Bails one of them out", Paulson pulls some nice thing out of his hat. On AIG, What he did was Loaned a 1 Trillion dollar company 100Billion dollars, AT 12%. Yes you heard that correct. WE MAKE 1 Billion dollars per Month, for that loan. On top of that Warrents on 80% of the company. He also allowed one of the largest wall street firms to Implode under the weight of it's own Hubris. These things are Amazing to see happen, usually the Tax Payer gets Screwed. We defiantly get our piece.
• The same will be true for the bigger "Bail Out", paulson will be sure to make this work for us, for the tax payer. In fact I keep Joking that he could be the first Treasury secretary that will make the Federal government profitable. It's going to cost, But I continue to be Amazed how he keeps pulling Rabbits out of his hat. I'm a socialist, but paulson is so far, a fairly amazing Treasury secretary... One can say that he wasn't pro-active enough. But it's hard to do that without some legislative help. He and the fed chairman, warned us. I personally Warned every one of our Legislators... If you want to blame people..... Blame our legislators, and administration. But also realize that much of it has to be blamed on the legislators for the past 30 years.
• If it makes Y'all feel better to get some 10 gallon things of Wheat, and store some Water. 30 days of food or whatever. But ... Trust the survival instincts of all the capitalists, and of The system in general. Just like we all have survival instincts, so does our financial system.