The Economy as Bi-Polar Patient.

The U.S. economy is right now in the throes of some serious manic-depressive manifestations, as evidenced by the recent gyrations of the stock market. Some firms—you know their names by now—have been given the chance to not have to be held accountable for offering loans they had no business making to people who had no business taking out these loans.

So, the rate gets cut, the reckless get rewarded and anyone on a fixed income or just trying to keep ahead of the price of oil, gas and bread, gets the shaft. The market rockets up and plummets down. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Until finally, some kind of nadir has to be reached for the whole things to level out to a more normal level.

Moral Compass, indeed.

We are in a sub-prime life. Not the prime of life, a sub-prime life.

Think of the “Annie” tune, “Hard-Knock Life”:

“It’s the sub-prime life, for us.
It’s the sub-prime life, for us.”
About those bailouts, We have no say
Steada price cuts, We must pay
It's the sub-prime life

No one cares for you at all
If as an investor you are small

“It’s the sub-prime life, for us.
It’s the sub-prime life, for us.”


But how about that other Annie staple—“Tomorrow” Do you think…..? Nah…more like the late summer. If we’re lucky.

copyright Kathryn Fallon, klaatukafe 2008.