47 comments

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  marn

  8 months ago

  Taking it a day at a time. Watching, and not wanting to make ANY big financial movements at this point.... sitting... waiting.... being blessed.
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  Angela

  8 months ago

  Overall,I'm not panicking and I wish the media and the President would quit trying to incite panic in people by constantly talking about the "dire" situation. The last time the market took a dump the front page of our paper made sure to include the word 'panic' in it's headline. That doesn't help things - it only makes it worse.
  As for the mortgage crisis, I feel like the rest of us are getting screwed because banks were stupid in lending money to people who are bad credit risks and homeowners were stupid in taking out a loan that they couldn't afford to buy more house than they needed. Those of us who are smart and responsible have to pay for others' stupidity. If you make bad choices you should have to deal with the consequences. Are we teaching our children that someone will always be there to bail them out and that they won't have to face the consequences of their actions?
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  licarrit

  8 months ago

  The bailout has almost nothing to do with covering the bad mortgages the banks made, and a lot of those stupid people were fine till they lost their jobs, or worse were still paying their rents when the banks foreclosed on their landlords properties. The bailout will cover the banks butts for essentially "betting" on how many loans would fail. Some of these banks "bet" 4,5 or more times the entire value of their assets.
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  DanielleLaPorte

  8 months ago

  I agree with licarrit (below) about the bail out, and i also agree with you - that the media is fueling the fear and pandemonium - as they usually do. It's more important than ever that we turn inward - and to eachother - for guidance.
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  Traci

  8 months ago

  I'm scared. I'm trying really hard not to be, and I'm doing my best to see opportunity in the situation, but I am scared. My husband and I are moving this weekend to a more expensive apartment that we leased before the whole thing went completely south, so I guess I'm just anxious to see how it will all pan out for us in the first few months. Deep down, I know it will be fine, but I'm a worrier.
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  Angela

  8 months ago

  I hope things work out for you.
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  Karen

  8 months ago

  I feel disappointed that the question is posed to reinforce that it is really the US that governs the world's economy.
  
  It was time to reset. Too many people forgot over the last 10 years that to live on borrowed money is not wise and that living in today should not be at the expense of tomorrow. The fact that the western economies' meltdown is tied to overextended credit is just ironic.
  
  The US slowdown is one thing, throw in that the major users of primary and secondary products are not churning as fast as expected and this is a global issue.
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  licarrit

  8 months ago

  Vaguely guilty, no I didn't default on a mortgage or anything but we just moved from the expensive to live Northeast to the slightly less expensive Midwest but got pay raises when we moved. My DD is also going to public school instead of us spending $20K a year for private elementary school and getting just as good an education, in some ways better. So personally, for us the last couple of months have been boom times. Now my retirement account has lost 1/3 of its value so its not like we are living in a bubble but I look at stock depreciation as an opportunity to buy more stock for the same money, I am also looking at moving my money to companies that believe in responsibility whether in their hiring practices or in their management of resources.
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  JoeM

  8 months ago

  I feel those who have misused their positions within the financial sector, the grossley overpaid executives who have been self dealing for the past ten years, and the Federal Government have thoroughly trashed our economy. I remember the Administration strongly recommending we move Social Security and retirement funds into the stock market as a hedge against failure just a couple of years back. I believe they knew then what is happening now and it was an attempt to prevent or delay this failure. I believe this culture of greed has now caught up to those who have been involved. But, mostly I believe that when we come out of the other end of all this, we will be stronger for it. We will have learned a lesson from it, and it can result in changes that will ultimately be for the improvement of the country. This along with a number of other events over the past couple of years have underscored the need for Americans to stand up and be counted. It has opened the door for taking our country back from those who are only out for themselves. Whatever you believe, don't forget to vote in six days.
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  Jess

  8 months ago

  Everything to do with the economy freaks me out.
  I'm still a poor student so I worry about my future and if I'll be able to make money. I worry about my parents although they seem fine.
  I'm trying to remember to be grateful always.
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  Kristin_The_Goat

  8 months ago

  My husband and I are doing pretty well and we are pumping money into the stock market. Now is such a good time to buy because it is going to come back. In 10 years this money I'm putting in will have tripled. Last year I paid a ton more for gas than I did this morning.
  
  I'm a huge believer in "what you think about, you bring about" and I choose not to panic or think that the everything is going badly. I think we are all going to get through this just fine and we are going to learn a lot from it.
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  Leah Graves

  8 months ago

  Part of me wants to move to my off-the-grid vacation home in Maine and live off the land (and telecommute to my current job of course). *sigh*
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  Ellen

  8 months ago

  I left my steady paycheck and benefits at a hellish job just before things went completely downhill. Now my clients say they can't come because of no money. I have creditors calling all day and evening. I have a stack of bills and no money to pay them. Seriously, NO money. My sweetheart and I are both small business owners. In his business, particularly (restaurant & catering) we have seen a vast decline over the past 4 years.
  All too typical example: Couple A gave a Christmas party for 500 in 2005. The party was for 150 in 2006. In 2007, they gave 2 small dinner parties. This year they are divorcing. This is par for the course across the board. Not the divorce part necessarily, but that does hint at the stress families face right now.
  Sorry to be Ms. Gloom and Doom this morning, but things are bad.
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  Traci

  8 months ago

  I'm so sorry things are tough, Ellen. I hope things start to look up for you very soon!
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  Michelle

  8 months ago

  I'm truly sorry so many people are suffering. I feel anger that people with 'in the know' and 'in power' have built and maintained a financial house on such shaky ground and with so little regulation as I understand the situation. I feel frustrated that we as local, national, and global citizens have handed over so much power and 'allowed' our leaders to led without accountability. I believe this kind of correction is necessary and I actually worry that too much is being done to prevent an even deeper crisis from emerging. Too much avoidance of consequence and conflict in our world.
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  MoJo

  8 months ago

  I'm a little unnerved and utterly fascinated (in that morbid kind of way that makes me watch horror movies). I can't believe the recent Greenspan admission of 'error' - excerpt below from NY Times:
  
  "Critics, including many economists, now blame the former Fed chairman for the financial crisis that is tipping the economy into a potentially deep recession. Mr. Greenspan’s critics say that he encouraged the bubble in housing prices by keeping interest rates too low for too long and that he failed to rein in the explosive growth of risky and often fraudulent mortgage lending."
  
  "But on Thursday, almost three years after stepping down as chairman of the Federal Reserve, a humbled Mr. Greenspan admitted that he had put too much faith in the self-correcting power of free markets and had failed to anticipate the self-destructive power of wanton mortgage lending."
  
  “Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders’ equity, myself included, are in a state of shocked disbelief,” he told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform."
  
  Huh? Wha? Seriously? Ahhhhhhhhh!
  
  And I'm about to buy and read Ravi Batra's book, The New Golden Age: The Coming Revolution against Political Corruption and Economic Chaos - apparently many of his predictions were correct this time around - will have to read it and see. Until then, I will continue watching - through my parted fingers, as my hands cover my eyes...
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  Katasha

  8 months ago

  Ever since I graduated from pharmacy school, this is the first time that I have consciously had to mind my pennies. It's really kinda scary.
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  Tammy_D

  8 months ago

  I have a feeling of being in limbo. Suspended animation. Thankfully, we have a fixed rate mortgage, some money in the bank, and jobs that appear to be steady for the moment. But it's best not to make any sudden moves. I am worried, and I feel stuck. Stuck with a shrinking, unsteady income, and stuck in my house. I know it's easy to blame people for taking on loans they couldn't afford to buy more house than they needed, but that's not quite correct. Here in Florida, people were taking on big loans to buy EXTREMELY modest homes and apartments-turned-condo, and almost all of the available rental properties were converted into condos. (I always wanted to live in a half-million dollar house, I just never thought it would be the one I was already in!) The prices became so inflated here, and affordable housing became non-existent. Anyone not wealthy, or lucky enough to have brought their house before the housing bubble started, had no choice but to get into a risky loan with the hope that they could refinance before their mortgage rate adjusted. It's very, very sad what's going on here. So basically, I guess I'm feeling really terrible about the US economic situation. I hope beyond hope that the people that really deserve their comuppance get it, but I think that's the banking, investment, real estate, and regulatory agencies, not the regular people that are going bankrupt just for buying a house or having to pay for medical care. I would like to pose a general question to all those that are living in countries where there is universal, gov't-run health care: that seems like Utopia to me. What's it like? What are the pros and cons?
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  Kate

  8 months ago

  I am with you on the feeling "in limbo". Our plans for the future and moving on up are currently on hold. We are having a hard time selling our gorgeous, well priced 1 bedroom apartment so that we can move up to a townhome, have more space and a larger mortgage, that we CAN afford. It's sort of a tease if you will. My husband and I have worked very hard for the past few years to move up in our companies, get raises and promotions, pay off student debts and save money, and now we can't do anything with it and we're still in the same place we were.
  
  I realize it's a blessing to have more money than you need but to me it's not the money, it's the result of that money and hard work being put on hold.
  
  I agree with many of you that the media creates panic. I believe that's a big part of why consumer confidence is down. The worst thing we can all do is stop spending money because it's all a part of the cycle. We don't spend money, small business can't make a profit, go out of business and employees are laid off, those employees don't have a job and can't pay their mortgage, foreclosure etc etc.
  
  I am really hopeful that the market is just correcting itself and we will all get past this.
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  Suzyn

  8 months ago

  I was moseying along, trying not to worry about things I can't control, reminding myself of all my backup plans... Then I started reading Naomi Wolf on HuffPo and now I'm just deer-in-the-headlights terrified.
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  Diane

  8 months ago

  Scared but hopeful.
  Scared because it just feels like the bottom could drop out at any moment.
  Hopeful that after the election, this mess can be turned around before it gets much worse.
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  Cupcake Murphy

  8 months ago

  I feel a sense of peace and excitement, coupled with some anxiety because I feel we are on the precipice of great and true change and are coming out of one of the most unhealthy, frenetic periods in our history. We can only go up from here. I feel like I have this knowing in my heart and others are reflecting it back to me as well. On the street, in coffee shops, at the grocery store I've noticed that people are making eye contact more. They are smiling at each other more. It seems like there is a waking up taking place and, although it is going to be challenging (but that too is an attitude! it might be easy to get rid of all the extra stuff we've conspicuosly consumed in recent years) it will leave us lighter, clearer, truer to ourselves and each other. I have an 86 yr old neighbor who is a beloved dear friend of mine and he had said to me "Every generation feels that they have it the roughest and that THIS TIME things are not going to get better. And they always do."" I agree with that. I think, as a species, we are meant to learn and grow and come shining through adversity. And that's what we're gonna do. We are going to make it and we'll look back and then look at each other and say "What's next?"
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  MoJo

  8 months ago

  Thank you, 'Cupcake'. That was beautifully expressed and offered some positive perspective. I agree - as there is always a calm before the storm, so too is there a storm before the calm. Here's hoping this one finds us on a more stable, accountable and loving shore when we come out on the other side.
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  DanielleLaPorte

  8 months ago

  great point about a generational perspective. Pendulums swing....
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  stella

  8 months ago

  It scares me a little but I think that it's a great wake up call for all of us. We are all credit monsters in our own way and I think that we all needed to look at our own spending and make some changes. I also think that it may be a fresh start for the ultimate change in the US administration. Go Obama!
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  Daniel Gibbons

  8 months ago

  I could be wrong, but technical analysis of the US dollar vs. other currencies certainly indicates that it's only going to strengthen. Despite panic and irrational behavior, the market is still very effective at telling us what's going on.
  
  However, I don't think we're headed back to the days when you can make money in the stock market by buying and holding. Stocks that are falling and look like "bargains" are probably going to fall further, or at least remain stagnant, and no-one is going to be doubling their money in real estate in five years.
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  missp

  8 months ago

  Fearful is how I'm feeling.. There is a whole lot of "stupid" out there who are being ruled by fear, religion, racism... I am saddened to think that the world hasn't come this far, that the thought of hiring someone who isn't a rich white old man... is still an issue.. it shows how far the U.S. has come.... NOT VERY.. And then with the Harper REELECTION??? So with trepidation I watch, as the religious right increases their hold, spreading lies and the democrats are holding on literally ..... I have had to stop watching all political debates, the stupidity of Sara Palin is nauseating.. So today, in this moment.. not so optimistic... I don't know whether North America can gets it's own ass out of it's self and look for something different.. I hope and I pray.... and I'm not a praying gal.. per say...
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  Me

  8 months ago

  Very uncertain, but working to not be in a vibration of fear.
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  missp

  8 months ago

  Of course i just re read the question!!!! the US situation!!!!.. I didn't see the fine print..OH.. the economic situation!!!! A country that has become based in fear, and has shopped themselves right out of reality and now crashed.. ? how am I supposed to feel?... disappointed, disheartened, that that's how they dealt with the pain of 9/11.. they shopped, they consumed, they overspent to compensate for the hole in their souls... As a nation, to figure out that there is "someone" out there that hates them so much they want to kill them?? Not a very nice thought, no wonder they shopped themselves into bankruptcy...
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  alligator_kate

  8 months ago

  Fear and freedom. Although I try to live in a frugal way, I still find myself wanting 'stuff', especially when I am nervous. This has been called 'retail therapy', which is really a cute name for what should be called an addiction to shopping. Even when I do not actually buy things, I spend time looking at catalogs, greedily contemplating owning this or that. I would like to take the world's mood to change this old behavior pattern in myself forever. As I am fairly young and healthy, I feel that ultimately I'll weather this just fine, so I'm send out love and support to the generation in front of me who are at retirement age. I've been calling my parents almost every day, and sending them as much love as I can, as well as prayers for those who have lost homes. Here in the city, I run a community garden that deals with food justice, fresh veggies for everyone. This winter I'll be grant writing to increase our vegetable garden, so that we will make more of a difference in feeding our neighbors.
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  Lindsay

  8 months ago

  I believe there is a lot of fear tactics out there...
  I'm not buying into the doom and gloom and apocalyptic type thinking... i'm now choosing to walk away from those conversations. I'm choosing for my self, not to keep my head in the clouds necessarily, but to remember to be positive and in the moment. We're going to be fine, this too will pass. Collective positive, loving consciousness would help greatly in these times.... that is my prayer.
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  Cindy - Creative Classic

  8 months ago

  I agree with you Lindsay. I believe that the perpetuation of fear and anxiety is making all of this worse because we are attracting even more to be scared about.
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  bohemian genuine

  8 months ago

  I'm no economist, but it was my feeling that the way the US economy functions is so ultimately unsustainable that it was bound to happen. You cannot have a supposedly "prosperous" society when the gap between the Have and Have-Nots is so huge, where greedy executives and corrupt politicians make decisions that affect huge amounts of people and where the tax system so clearly favors the rich. If an economy is like an ecosystem of resources, then ours (the US) was completely dysfunctional. Sorry to sound so Bolshie, but hey, I *am* Bohemian!
  
  However, I *am* using the need to economize and save and reduce to really think about what true wealth and prosperity is about on a social level, and of course on an individual level. It means saving up so I can travel instead of eating out for lunch everyday. It means deciding to spend $ on a ballet class rather than buy another workout DVD. It means finally learning how to can food. It means getting my existing clothes tailored rather than buying new ones. It means confronting my existing debts head-on instead of avoiding them. Experiences over material goods; using less to create more. These things sound all shallow and little, but small things do add up.
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  Uncle Beefy

  8 months ago

  I've been a bit of a roller-coaster over the whole thing. One moment I'm okay...the next, fighting the dread. I don't want to buy into all the doom and gloom and realize that in life there are cycles. But, I am seeing the tightening of people's purse strings in the retail sector which then has an effect on my income as hours get cut back and I begin consideration of a second job. That's where it gets a bit harder to disregard and maintain optimism.
  
  Despite those difficulties...I think this may be a very good thing in numerous ways for the future of the country and its culture. I hope so.
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  Susie Hutchinson

  8 months ago

  I think we are in for some serious rethinking of how we all live, produce and abuse resources. Westerners will have to start paying the real cost of goods, slave and child labour to purchase cheap toys and clothes must stop. Thinking about where your food and things come from. Perhaps it is time to actually think about how to create something, rather than borrow to buy things.
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  alligator_kate

  8 months ago

  Well said. I hope you are right.
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  Rushmi

  8 months ago

  Today I recieved 15 resumes for a homebased customer service rep position - all 15 were applicants from the US (we are based in Toronto)...all 15 are from people in managerial positions....Never before have I recieved so many resumes in one day and all from south of the border. My anxiety is tempered by knowing that this is going to be a long haul before the US and the rest of the world climbs out of economic woe. The sun will shine at the other end...we will be smarter about our money. It's the long haul to the sun that has me anxious. How will everyone make it through to the other side. How many families will need to use shelters, food banks, and rely on the traditional extended family home to get through. Hunker down everyone - Its not just the US that is going through this. The ENTIRE world is feeling the Pinch.
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  Daniel Gibbons

  8 months ago

  Very good point about the food banks. I heard that Canadian food banks are already feeling the pinch -- people have less to donate, and at the same time demand is increasing.
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  Rushmi

  8 months ago

  Daniel, in Toronto and in Mississauga we have lots of stories where food banks are already seeing an increase in number of 'clients'. Many are going in for the first time in their life. All with their heads down, and some even wiping away tears. These people going to the food banks are not new canadians, single parents....these are people working for small businesses finding themselves shortened by the economy. The problem is here. The problem is in India. It's in Spain. It's in Great Britain. The US is not alone....But, as humans we persevere.
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  Ngonzi Truth Crushshon

  8 months ago

  Happy the worst is hopefully over...people can start borrowing money again....and gas prices are dropping. Hopefully, we can get back job stability, too.
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  laurie_matthews

  8 months ago

  I was already trying to be more economically prudent so this will just provide more encouragement. However, I was also looking forward to buying a house and feel even more nervous about the housing market and job security. I welcome the move towards balance, both internally and externally.
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  Elena

  8 months ago

  I feel like I'm lucky I have almost nothing and thus nothing to lose! Life is simple this way : )
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  Cobby

  8 months ago

  I feel like the US economic situation is a wake-up call for everyone. My husband and I have been really anxious about the economy for the past few years so we've been taking serious steps to get our economic house as in line as possible (e.g. paid off credit cards, paying down student loans and mortgage early, maxing out tax-free 401(k) contributions and working to put 18 to 24 months worth of household spend into FDIC insured cash/cash equivalents). We still worry a whole lot about the security and stability of our jobs, but the companies we work for seem to be weathering the storm so far. We're just hopeful that we and our companies continue to perform well.
  
  i'm even more worried though about the potentially negative long-term effects of the bailout on the US economy.
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  Danielle

  8 months ago

  If money is the root of all evil, and money is time then time is the root of all evil - the funniest thing about that is time is just something we (humans) invented, same with money.
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  Amy Guth

  8 months ago

  Fearful, yet hopeful that it steers our collective vision away from bigger houses, shoddily constructed and filled with mass-produced junk to simpler and more thoughtful lives filled with quality people, items and experiences.
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  rock girl

  8 months ago

  I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel I touch of "I told you so", as I've worked in the markets for years and I know what a scam they are. I don't own any stocks. I've been saying for a long time that once people pay off their debts - and that INCLUDES mortages - they should invest only in tangibles such as art, jewelry, antique cars - things they can enjoy. Gold coins are "real money" - a protection against the fall of fiat currency. If you must own stocks, they should pay dividends. Bonds and utilities - that's it. Anything else is rank speculation, in my opinion.
  
  I loathe the Federal Reserve. And I detest the evil and incompetent Bush administration more than ever. The "bailout" has a lot of zeros in it - funny how there was never any money for all the health and education programs, and the social security fund was "empty", but Ben Bernanke sprinkled his pixie dust and SHAZAM!!! all this money appeared from nowhere. If I were an American I would feel seriously ripped off. It's also kind of funny how a suspicious side effect of the bailout - which is supposedly for the benefit of the hoi polloi - is that the rich get richer - AGAIN. Personally, I think that the Wall Street criminals should get strung up, rather than walk away with millions in severance packages. Or even go on vacations to fancy resorts.
  
  I guess I feel CYNICAL about the American economic crisis.
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  chase

  8 months ago

  i hate the world
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