The End of the "Greed is Good" Mantra

Well, if you believed that "Greed is Good" as in that famous speech in the movie "Wall Street" the current events may give you some pause.

So we have now definitely entered the "panic" phase of the current crisis. It's interesting as I was talking to a relative on Saturday or Sunday and oblivious to the current events on wall street, as the big topic was bailing from the 7 to 12 inches of rain we were receiving. I mentioned the banking panic of 1907 and soothed her with the statement "we have had banking crisis before, and about every 8 years or so we go through a recession" and so why should I think this time will be any different? We will have to "hunker down" but thank God we do have this resilient economy.

I do think we are testing the limits and we'll see how this unfolds. Personally, I have my eye on the longer term, 10 years out.

I do have some personal experience in these matters. I work in support of "heavy industry" and I am fully and painfully aware of the consequences of our mad dash to the "service economy". I have been at the effect of this economy since 1978 as we lurch from boom to bust, following the "greed and fear" cycle. At present, my business has taken a terrible hit, which leads me to extend a "thank you" to all those greedy fools who bought a house and couldn't afford one. But that is the way it is.

The Motley Fool has this nice article entitled "The Biggest Financial Story of the Past 50 Years" which tidily sums it up:

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2008/09/15/the-biggest-financial-story-of-the-past-50-years.aspx?source=ihptclhpa0000001