Are those in the financial world really no more than crying four-year-olds? Do they need the President to wipe their noses and tell them everything is going to be o.k? Is our entire financial system based on the actions of adults acting like jittery, little children? If they're the experts, don't they already know we're in a mess? Oh crap, did I crash some overseas market by typing that?

I'm one of those players in the financial world, and work for one of just 3 remaining life companies willing to write commercial real estate mortgages. If you're a snoopy, a whale, or a New Yorker, you're a life company still in the game as giant killers. If you would like to have a clearer understanding of what has caused so many financial institutions to fail, especially the investment banks, I suggest googling the words "Credit Default Swaps" and read about "netting" of these agreements. This is THE instrument that has caused so much damage to so many folks around the world. Basically, they're hedge bets from one institution to another of another taking a loss on an investment. Think about a spider web. When something too heavy hits the web, it pulls on all the strings until the web falls apart. That is what "netting" has done, and that thing that was too heavy, is called Lehman Brothers. It's also why you'll see in the press soon about AIG distributing their bailout money to foreign banks, instead of US operations. All of these institutions are trying to cut the strings of these credit default swaps that are pulling their institutions down. We won't see any significant improvement in the financial sector until these webs can be undone "and hopefully never allowed to happen again". So, to say they're crying little 4 years olds isnt' quite right "although I can see where you're coming from". These institutions are just trying to honor their swap agreements, because they're so tightly wound, that if we have one more break the agreement "like Lehman", things are going to get worse 5 fold.

If you want to point the finger at one organization responsible for this mess, it's the SEC. It's not the White House, Bush, AIG, yada yada yada alone. The top 5 execs of the SEC should be hauled up to the hill and GRILLED by the Senate on public TV, and then brought up on criminal charges of utter neglect. Those IDIOTS ignored all of this during the past 5+ years, when it is their job to prevent this sort of thing. It's their fault!

I appreciate your explanation. I was specifically referring to the Sunday morning news show decrying the fact that President Obama is saying we're in a crisis, thereby creating more crisis. I am not in the business of finance, but I am very unnerved that those who are in that industry were unaware of the crisis until President Obama spoke of it. And I'm further unnerved that speaking of it causes it to be worse. Is that really true? We have to dance around singing about sunshine and roses until the finance guys are propped back up? I understand that consumers get nervous about a recession and they stop spending money and all that. I get it. I know that state of mind and confidence are important, but is the President's acknowledgement really making it worse?

So by blaming the SEC, the explanation is that people were trying to make money from something that wasn't there and the SEC didn't (or wouldn't) catch them doing it. So, if someone robs a bank and the police don't catch him, it's the policeman's fault? And, yes, you can rightly say that is a simplistic analogy, but if it's not apt, please explain how.

The Wall Street Journal is already reporting about AIG's money to foreign banks.

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So, if someone robs a bank and the police don't catch him, it's the policeman's fault? And, yes, you can rightly say that is a simplistic analogy, but if it's not apt, please explain how.

The difference here is that the policeman responded to the call and at least tried to catch the bad guy. The SEC not only answered the phone, but hung up on the one calling in the bank robery and went on acting like nothing was wrong. That's the difference. They didn't even try, and when ever someone tried to get their attention to the flaws in the system, they simply said "you're wrong, everything is fine". Trust me, several of us aren't suprised in the slightest in what's going on. We've seen this coming since 2004, when a person could get a mortgage faster then they could get a Dominos pizza.

You choose what's worse: A president who refused to acknowledge the word "recession", as in the last president. Or a president who keeps saying "recession" every other word. Either way, it's an ugly word with ugly elements. Personally, I'd rather acknowledge the pink elephant in the room, get people focused on it, and start thinking about what to do about it. Instead of ignoring it and hoping it goes away on it's own. At least one the size of this monster anyway.

If I were a mortgage holder today, I'd be on the phone to refinance my mortgage with an FHA mortgage right now! Not just becuase of the ultra low rates, but because of the "assumability" clause of an FHA mortgage. In 24-36 months, that little clause can be a HUGE benefit to you if you have to sell your house, when we're in the inflationary stages of this recovery and rates are in the double digits. If you have a home with a 4.5% assumable mortgage, you'll have a far better chance of getting your asking price then someone who doesn't and is hoping a buyer can afford a mortgage payment at 11% on the price you're asking "which most likely won't be the case in general".

I just don't buy the blame game. Many years ago my Uncle was the Chief Engineer of a major SAC base and I asked him basically why the government spends big bucks for things such as toilet seats. His answer was that the suppliers typically collude on the bids so the lowest bid will typically be more than the local hardware store. If we as a nation refuse to pay our taxes, blame our politicians and political parties, reduce government employment benefits to the point only a moron would work for us, and rip the government off every which way we can- then were done. Who wants to work for the SEC? Who wants to work for the Justice Department? Or any government function - Not your best and brightest. One again- you get what you pay for- public or private.