This is not a big surprise, really. One has only to observe how many fewer cars are on the road shortly after rush hour, how many empty seats are on the planes into or out of major hubs, how many fewer people are in front of you in any line for services from movie theaters to tire stores, how much more quickly you are seated in a restaurant. I am always bemused at how the pundits are so shocked. Sometimes we over think things. The signs of slowdown in most sectors is all around you.

The numbers are bad, but the unemployment rate still is not nearly as bad as it was in 1981. When I graduated from college in 1981 there was only one job available for my field, and 25,000 people applying for it. Even minimum wage jobs were difficult to get.

With commodity prices dropping, it will help the economy recover much quicker then most people think. In the 1970’s we had recessions because the middle class wages didn’t keep up with inflation. People would just stop buying like they did before. History repeats itself.

I predict 30% unemployment by March of 2009. The retailers are gonna tank right after Christmas. Look for some really good deals!

In 2005 both parties in Congress joined with the administration to change the Bankruptcy Code to make it difficult for consumers to discharge credit card debt. This statute, largely written by MBNA lobbyists, was enacted into law over the protests of lawyers and judges across the nation. The statute also made it much more difficult for people to reorganize their mortgage debt so that they could keep their homes.

There is no doubt that closing off of the “fresh start” and making the US Trustee’s office an attack dog had contributed to the current financial crash.

Our present members of Congress have done nothing about this. Let them know what you think of them, with their taxpayer-funded salaries, social life and parties, while thousands lose their jobs and homes and cannot use the bankruptcy law to get a fresh start and keep their homes.

My dad dropped out of the workforce in the mid 70s. He was a laborer and never found another job. I lost my job a few months ago. I anticipate the worst. Hang onto your hat folks!

I think it will get considerably worse. The current administration is trying to push the string of credit as an almost exclusive way of dealing with an economy that doesn’t want more credit. This simply isn’t working. Consumers don’t want more credit but instead want to have less debt. Most of the consumer goods sold on credit are not necessities. As such, this could get a lot worse as regular folks hunker down and take their lumps.

I don’t see this turning around until quite a bit more debt is retired or destroyed. That will take years if the current methods are continued. Too bad the folks handing out the billions don’t understand that easy credit isn’t the answer this time around. Giving bailouts to banks and credit card companies doesn’t keep a roof over people’s heads or feed people who are hungry, it only perpetuates the status quo, which is currently downhill. It is amazing how too many houses are making more people homeless.

This issue goes way back to the response to 9/11 - when the response to “what can you do for your country now?” was “Go to the mall and shop”. Perhaps a more compassionate and conservative approach this time is feed and house your neighbor.

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

I am thankful that both my husband and I still have jobs. But we are more thankful that we started living below our means (budgeting) in February and paid off all our debts in August before this crisis really began. This has allowed us to sleep easier at night and not fear the next day’s bills or pink slips.

In my opinion the situation is going to be worse in next one year.Stats are just numbers,but we are dealing with lives and livelihood.As we have seen no amount of bailout or financial aid have benefited the industry.May be this is the right time to think about the path that we are following where we count each life as a digit in database.Main thing that people have lost confidence in the system.We are paying more emphasis in creating billionairs rather than valueing each life and environment.More important are small scale industry and enterpreunership than creating financial giants who get too lazy and stop serving the system.Executives in these giants earn/spend just too much.The corporate greed has given place to lies.To hide a lie,the corporates have invented 10 lies and hence the crisis.

What do you expect when our administration is filled with incompetant people and greed hit its zenith with the wall street firms. It think the FBI needs to start prosecuting CEOs of these firms.

May you live in interesting times….

Just keep in mind that many of us are self-employed or otherwise work in small businesses that don’t report layoffs. There are, I’m sure many thousands of Americans like me who don’t show up in the government figures. I’m sad to hear about 1/2 million people losing their jobs, but on the other hand I think, “Welcome to the club.”