*deep breath* okay...panicking about the economy...someone talk me down *deep breath*

I am looking at the markets right now and i am shaking.

President Obama has his work cut out for him!

I guess Phil Gramm would call me an economic whiner.

entire nation of whiners. Jerk.

I can't talk you down. Our short-term and long-term savings are dwindling to the point that I'm getting scared too.

It was certainly before I was born but my parents and grandparents survived the last great depression and I figure we can too. Lots of people survived except those steeped in fear. It was the overwhelming fear of the economy and WWII that brought FDR to say "we have nothing to fear but fear itself." You will be ok, we will all be ok but we cannot afford to be immobilized because of fear. This is change and we all knew it was coming, but we can ride it out. By the way some people made money during the depression, just look for opportunities they will be there.

She grew up during the Depression too, and she's always said, "It was no big deal. Sure, we didn't have anything, but NOBODY had anything. So we didn't notice. We were all in the same boat."

My grandparents did what they had to do to feed and house their four kids--including working several jobs (my grandma kept the books for the Mob--their lottery!) and modifying their house to take boarders. They all made it just fine. We will too.

It is time for the Republicans to just go away.

At my house they are, in no particular order:

Denise
Dogs Ruby and Carson
Oliver the cat
Jobs
Food
Collective health
Shinning sun
Shelter
Transportation
Savings for a pinch
Extended family (parents, sister's family, and brother)

Husband
Daughter
Four cats
Health
Roof over our heads
Food in the kitchen
Cars
A tiny bit of savings
Love
It's a gorgeous day

Sigh.

We'll be putting off retirement for a few extra years, I think. Definitely.

My father is a broker and one of the best around (he handles a lot of very big accounts as well). He's buying back in to the market on Tuesday. He says according to charts we've hit bottom. The market will be sloppy still until at least 2011 he said but according to the graphs he's looking at, we just hit bottom.

I was watching the business news today and I had similar thoughts based on their comments. They were saying things like investors are full of panic and fear. They aren't making rational decisions and are ignoring good news out of wall street in order to sell off. To me, this means the value of the market is higher than the current reflection coming from the various indices. To me, this is good news, and means the level-headed investors may be buying back in to the market very soon.

We're all in this together. If you can hang onto your hat for the next 2 - 3 years, you'll see a turnaround. This advice from my very wealthy and sensible boss (who lived and whose family thrived during the Depression and survived the Holocaust). She has never, ever been wrong about financial matters.

Panic: bad.
Panic forces your hand.

I am fortunate that I am still young enough (!) at 47 to weather this. I am deeply concerned for my friends at retirement age. We are all going to have to dig deep into our wells of compassion to keep these folks afloat.

I will open my heart and my wallet.

Peace.