3 a.m. call could be an economic crisis [View All]

[robertpaulsen]

3 a.m. call could be an economic crisis

Monday, March 10th 2008, 4:00 AM

It is 3 a.m. Your children are asleep. There is a phone ringing in the White House. And we have to decide who answers it. The first question I would ask is: Who is calling at such an ungodly hour? The presidential candidates are worried about a terrorist attack.

I am worried about a call from someone in the Mideast announcing they have bought Citibank, someone in Asia saying they're dumping trillions of dollars of our debt, or from Hugo Chavez in Venezuela saying he's not going to make an oil delivery.

While the candidates are fixated on terrorists, immigrants, stem-cell research, same-sex marriage and athletes on steroids, they are ignoring our greatest problem.

As I see it, "It's the economy, stupid." The economy is bad, but it will get worse. Investors know what is coming, that's why stocks have been slumping. Mortgage delinquencies are the highest since 1985, and subprime mortgage delinquencies are at a record 17.3%. Some Wall Street indicators suggest subprime delinquencies could reach 35%. With banks increasingly unwilling or unable to lend, this will mean a big jump in foreclosures. Consumer confidence has sunk to the worst rating since the index was created.

http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2008/03/10/2008-03-10_3_am_call_could_be_an_economic_crisis.html

What the author doesn't state is my greatest fear; that the 3 am call will occur this September, with the Bush/Cheney Katrina fuck-ups at the helm.