Black Monday victory?

Well, dear reader, I missed the mark on the depth of the first plunge, but only by a little bit. I told you this morning that I expected a 300-point drop, perhaps twice that. Instead, we got a 700-point drop, which, while the single biggest point drop in history, is still not quite as big as the percentage-point drops suffered in the original Great Depression or the 1987 debacle. Still, it points out that there is panic in the halls of the would-be kings of the banking world, and this may not be such a bad thing. The people have risen up and expressed a near-violent outrage against oiling the wheels of the machine that has functioned to enrich the few on the backs of the many. I applaud all of you who took the time to write, call, or send smoke signals to your elected officials regarding this matter. It appears that we do have a voice in this republic after all! To have ignored this would have placed the Congress in the untenable position of having to "fall on the sword", not once, but repeatedly.

And shame on you, Nazi Pelosi, for calling the Republicans who "didn't come to the table" as being "unpatriotic". You locked them out, you had them thrown out of meetings, you tried to sneak "earmarks" into this bill that had NO PLACE in it. You also were only too willing to grant Hank Paulson virtually unlimited powers to buy ANY assets he deemed necessary to preserve his profits, and likely your own profits as well, including bad foreign-owned financial instruments. I have no respect for you or your gang of thieves, shame on you for trying to give our country away. There is a reason your Demican/Republicrat party turned their backs on you and your siamese twin Jorge Arbusto, and that reason is US! We, the people! We spoke, our representatives listened, for once, and defeated the bill you and Jorge tried in vain to shove down our throats. The reason for your secrecy and your rush to pass this legislation? I have my suspicions that you, too, are making bets against the economy, shorting the US economy, as it were. YOU are the unpatriotic one, Grandma! I am ashamed of you, and those of your ilk!

For the rest of us on Main Street who pushed back against this bad piece of legislation, please- keep it up. Be involved. This is but a small victory in the taking back of America. The monsters on Wall Street are very much against Main Street, don't let their lies and perversions of the truth fool you. They are out to make a buck. Your buck. We need more vigilance, more involvement in our government than we have been given to exercising lately. Our complacency has nearly cost us our very freedom, and the attacks came from within. Nice to see not everyone was asleep at the wheel this time- don't nod off now. They will try again by the end of the week.

When they DO try, look at the bill as it is drafted. Look carefully for protections for the common man, look for true oversight- the dead bill had an oversight committee consisting of Paulson, Cox, the Secretary of HUD. THAT, my friends, is giving the fox the keys to the henhouse! Not wise, even by today's lax standards! Look also for unbridled power to be given to either Paulson, or one (or more) of his cronies, such as the Federal Reserve Board, or even the GAO. Watch for tricks in the wording that will allow great latitudes in powers, or in what types of financial instruments are allowed to be bought or sold. What we really need right now is a complete overhaul of the system, but the weasels of Wall Street are screaming for more cash. They're pathetic, like junkies looking for their next fix. It sickens me. The crafters of this bill also told us (Hank Paulson & friends) that there would be "protections against golden parachute clauses". That, dear readers, was an outright lie. The only thing mentioned in the bill that referred to "excessive compensation" was a small passage that said "Excessive compensation will be levied a tax at the rate of 20% on the excessive gains of the top 5 persons leaving any firm". Not even what I pay on my puny salary! And it opens the door to the "carryout profits buffet". Just underpay the next 5 in line, and have them carry the profits out the door and to the alley, where the top fat cats will be waiting in the line of limos. Thievery. Utter trash.

I expect tomorrow's market will see a 400-800 point drop, especially since the European markets are undergoing their own bank failures right now (Fortis). In fact, some are calling for up to a 4-6,000 point drop in the Dow before we settle out. That, my friends, is what I call devastating. But it can happen. Be prepared, as much as you can. Unemployment will likely exceed 10% in the coming months. I don't think that it will be as bad as the 1930's, when unemployment hit a whopping 25%, but it could get close. The difference this time is that firms aren't experiencing as much contraction to preserve capital as before. With the credit market bone-dry, I don't expect to see too much growth, but it may not be the end of the world.

So, be aware of every penny for the time being, and don't spend needlessly. We must prepare ourselves for a new paradigm- living on what we truly need, not on what we truly want. We will adjust to this new lifestyle, I already have. Sure, I have some toys, I'm not rich, I live in a modest little home in a modest little neighborhood, and I don't own a single new car. I also don't have as much debt as most average Americans, which is good. But I also don't have as big a cushion as I'd like. I'm working on that part, and so should you.

Happy "Black Monday" to you all, and celebrate the victory, but not too much, there is still a very large war, and this is but one small battle. Be brave, have courage, and know that "we done good" this time.

As always, I am...

Amir Fazadh