May you live in Exciting Times!

"May you live in Exciting times."

This is a very ancient Chinese proverb. And let's face it; these are highly exciting times! Many are going to say these are rather disconcerting and even frightening times.

For those who dislike change of any type these are going to be some rather very rough times. From my perspective I believe that many changes are in the air.

Let me say first that I want to stay far from politics. I think we give elected officials far to much credit and blame!

And I'm sure that much better minds than mine will come up with much better opinions.

However, I 've given this entire financial mess we are seeing, some serious thought and I've come to the conclusion that the housing bust and now the Wall Street panic are "results" and not "causes."

They are symptoms and not the ailment!

To me it appears that somehow the "very axis of our society or culture" has moved ever so slightly causing the housing and financial markets to swing out of their normal and usual orbit.

In the past decade we have seen the initial effects of globalization and the power of the Internet. We have seen the cost of two global wars soar and all without the benefit of raising taxes. We have had 28 years of federal "deregulation" in action and many hard won safeguards and regulations were thrown to the wind.

We, the USA, is borrowing money from foreign countries to pay for two foreign wars.

We have been transformed from an industrial based country to a " service-informational" one. This was an enormous leap or change.

Perhaps allof these factors and more have caused the axis to move just a degree?

If we look deeply we know the entire country and it's population are totally in debt. The idea of savings was thrown out the window a long time ago.

It's going to take time to cure the financial, housing and automobile markets. And we've become a very impatient and, I believe, a highly unrealistic people.

We want, and even demand, the quick, the easy, and the nice TV / movie endings. Up until now it worked.

The changes I see coming are ones of prudence, savings, accountability, responsibility, restraint and sensibility. Frugality is returning and with a Yankee vengeance

More to follow.

BIll McInerney