Black Box Report

There is that overworn expression that applies to our global economy, “when America sneezes, the world catches a cold.” As the international markets proved, it could turn into bronchitis. For all the sunny optimism you'll hear from Washington shortly, trust me, don't believe the hype. Yes, maybe some of the sell off is driven by fear, but more is rooted on reality. Reality that can easily become recession.

But here’s where the headache can turn into a migraine. Because so much of our debt is in the hands of the Chinese and others, and because so much foreign investment is throughout our domestic industry, our sub-prime crisis can easily have a double whammy effect; hurting regular Americans and hurting those we've come to now rely on. I don't know how this turns out, but I know this - if Washington ever needed to shoot straight with the American public, the bill is past due.