Today, the Dow plunged 778 points, the largest single day drop in history. Worse than the drop the markets suffered when they reopened after September 11th, 2008. This happened, of course in the wake of the failure of the bail-out bill. One trillion dollars was lost today in the stock market. Now, word is coming in that world markets are dipping sharply in response to the failed bill and the U.S. market plunge. Now the partisan finger pointing in Washington begins. It's like these guys have no clue that this crap is affecting real people. Real people's retirement funds, savings accounts and home values. If you are near retirement age and looking to use your 401k soon you may be in big trouble. The value of that account is worth substantially less today than than it was at the close of business on Friday. Now banks are freezing loans to individuals and small business. So even if you could find a buyer for your house, they probably couldn't get a loan. If you have a small business and you need a loan to help you make payroll, or expand your business, too bad! You're not in the market and have no 401k? Don't think that you're safe either. It won't be long before all of this trickles down and really hits the job market hard. Say you work for a heavy equipment manufacturer. They sell lots of machinery to Asian countries. The Asian markets are falling hard right now. Soon the companies that purchase all of this expensive equipment will be in their own financial trouble and begin canceling purchasing contracts. There goes your job. Tonight I watched the very financially savvy Suze Orman on Anderson Cooper 360. She fears that we are in trouble for the long haul, specifically until at least 2015. That's even if we have a bail-out. I tend to think she is right. It's only in the news right now, but it took a long time for this mess to happen and it will take a long time to dig our way out. It's time for these people on both side of the aisle to grow up and remember that they all work for us. They need to get it together and get this thing done.
Time Magazine has a good article on the consequences of no bail-out will be. Read it here.
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