Crisis, Turmoil, Chaos, Whatever

I got a request to opine on the current madness that is currently happening on Wall St. and since I don't like to disappoint my few loyal readers, I thought I would indulge a little.  Granted there are an infinity of articles out there on this but I'll give you my non-journalistic, non-finance, non-economics background take on everything.  I'll also put in some links to help all of you navigate some of the best stuff on the web.

First, understanding why this is all happening is pretty crucial.  The best explanation I've found is here (second post).  I don't think I need to say too much more (if you read it) except maybe that too many people got caught up keeping up with the Joneses, Gonzalezes, Schwartzes, Mohammeds, Khans, Sopranos, Changs, whoever the hell they live next to and coveting their (seemingly) marginally superior lifestyle and consumption ability.

This all-too human behavior got the best of too many people and companies like Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, hell, all of them decided to take advantage of this unprecedented wave of home buying and all the consumption (via plastic) that goes along with it.

The past is the past.  What about the present?  Well, things are bad.  Especially in New York, where this eliminates thousands of jobs and the trickle down effect is huge (e.g. street coffee man).  That's just the beginning.  The cab and limo drivers, service industry employees, etc.  A person I regularly talk to likens our situation as (I'm paraphrasing) Great Depression-esque.  I definitely see his point.  Hoovervilles aren't popping up in Central Park just yet but things are pretty grim.  The seemingly bullet-proof New York real estate market is softening, prices of everything are rising, and infrastructure is crumbling. 

Luckily, we live in an information-overload era and there are plenty of people putting a comedic spin on all this.  My favorite is DealBreaker, a self-described Wall St. Tabloid.  They take everything in stride and is a good outlet for those affected by the situation to vent a little about their incompetent, ego-maniacal bosses.  New York Magazine is also great, especially the blog Daily Intel.  They (DealBreaker, Daily Intel) have a tendency to poke fun at the big players: Hank Paulson, Dick Fuld, John Thain among others which is good because the typical "Big Business Bad!" (via the New York Times) vs. "Big Business Rules!" (via CNBC and Fox News) is, frankly, a little boring.

And, of course, the two guys running for President are talking a big game.  John McCain wants to appoint a "9/11 Commission" to figure out the problem (not a solution) and Barack Obama is going to raise taxes (not good for anybody).  The last two people that should be talking about the situation is these two guys.  

I hate to be the person to remind a few people of this, but the President of the United States has very little to do with the state of the economy.  There are going to be good times and bad times and if you're President you either bask in the glory (Clinton, Reagan) or take all the blame (Carter, either Bush).  Sorry, it comes with the job.

Now I suppose I could get into credit default swaps and mortgage backed securities and how they fit into all this but it's really pretty boring and complicated.  Hopefully this satisfies your Wall St. madness thirst.  Now go out there and get your Lehman Brothers swag on eBay!