It wasn't more than 8 months ago I signed up with a financial advisor who kept giving me the same old formula of selling higher risk stuff on up days (selling gains) and buying higher risk stuff on down days. Obviously, since most days have been DOWN days over the past several months, he would have had me stock up in higher risk stuff. He said NOTHING about preparing for this mess. Was he ill informed? Or was he complicit in the massive scheming? Fortunately, I asked too many questions, took up too much of his time and he dropped me.

Trust in the financial industry and in our government leaders is deservedly at an all time low.

Unfortunately, many if not most Americans are still attracted to promises of getting something for nothing. They are still looking for the easy way out. And Obama is the candidate with the best sounding promises: Cut taxes for 95% of all Americans while providing a large number of new expensive social programs for the lower and middle class. Isn't this the kind of thinking which over the past 16 years what got us into this mess?