Black Box Report

Every so often we all hear or see something that just clicks. Like the missing piece to a puzzle, when put together with other images or facts, it all comes together. Last week I went to Washington to attend the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute’s symposium, "Toward a New New Deal: FDR's Liberalism and the Future of American Democracy." For me, the reality of our economy and what may lie ahead came into focus when discussing, of all things, the Great Depression.

It was eerie hearing people describe what led to the crash of ‘29 and its aftermath. So while much of the night was a celebration of the New Deal, what stuck with me was how we might need a modern day historical rescue.

Prominent lawmakers who sit on key financial committees gave an unguarded and jarring account of America’s financial health today and tomorrow.

But you don't even have to take their word for it. Pick up your paper today and look at the tsunami of bankruptcies; American retailers closing stores by the thousands, earning reports from the major banks show steep profit losses as tens of thousands begin to get pink slips in the financial sector. If you think Bear Stearns will be the last, you need to think again.

Forget Wall Street though, the American consumer knows far better than some of the empty suits in the administration, the reality is a lot scarier than some downturn. Everything - from the gas in your car, to the food on your table, to your kids’ tuition, to your medical bills to your property taxes - all cost more. Now that I think about it, for some - property taxes might seem a blessing if your one of the millions who lost your home to foreclosure.

Simply put, everything costs more, but we don't have any more money. Now here comes the kick in the pants - the people we owe the money to, they need it back. The credit crunch is squeezing everybody and there’s nowhere near enough money to go around.

I don't want to be right, but in the pit of my stomach I believe the worst of this mess is around the corner, and I think nobody is shooting straight as to how pronounced it could get.