During the Great Depression there were no Financial Planners. I don’t think that it was even a job title. There were brokers who would buy stock for you until all of your money was gone, but they didn’t last long either.

 It wouldn’t surprise me to find Financial Planners, Stock Brokers and some Bankers sacking groceries at the local grocery store.

 I hope that the crooked Mortgage Brokers and Real Estate Agents that were a part of this mess pay the same price as the rest of us.

 That won’t happen. The above will benefit from bailout that we will only pay for and never see.

 HEADLINE: ADVISERS STRUGGLE TO RETOOL; APPROACHES UNCERTAIN TIMES!

 No kidding? My times are really certain. It will certainly be a miracle if my wife and I can keep our small business of 17 years going. We only have 3 employees and they represent three-fifths of our work force. Yet, they will suffer first if we must let them go in order for us to hunker down and hold on; hoping to hire them back.

When President Obama creates all these new jobs I hope that he will send me two or three crooked hedge fund boys and maybe a mortgage banker of two. I would like to see a $3000.00 suit.

 HEADLINE: MANY ARE FINDING THEIR NEST EGGS HAVE TAKEN A HIT
FROM THE UNCERTAIN ECONOMY AND STOCK MARKET!.

 Where do these writers get off writing about an uncertain economy and stock market? There is no uncertainty here! We have slowly been sinking into a recession for the past 3 years. Up until now all our government could give us as a lousy $600.00 while groceries and gasoline prices were creeping up 40% a month.

 They have just now begun to call it a “recession”. Let me tell you friend I was alive during the Great Depression and that is what we are in today. If some drastic solutions are not put into place they will be calling this one “The Greatest Depression”.

 “According to Congress' top budget analyst, Peter Orszag, Americans'
retirement plans have lost as much as $2 trillion in the last 15 months.”

Mike Walden, an economist in North Carolina, has said that soon-to-be retirees should start considering their options. With no clear indication of just how low the low will be some people are choosing to pull out of the market. Others are diversifying portfolios so that they do not take a large hit in any one sector. Still others are frightened, confused and unsure what to do next. Financial advisers tend to agree that diversification could be the answer to help ride out the storm.

He further stated, "Workers should especially not put all of their eggs in one basket by buying company stock solely, and should also consider less volatile investments."

 Am I nuts? Are there people still considering “diversifying portfolios”. Is this so that when all stock becomes worthless, you can say you didn’t take as big a hit?

 The stock market will continue to be manipulated by the big dogs so as to nudge prices up and down. They will run stock prices down and buy, then run it up and sell it to the remaining investors who are sleep walking, and then they will run prices down again to start the cycle over.

 If you play this game you are the market’s lawful prey.

 Those who take a hands-off approach to their retirement portfolio may want to pay closer attention to how funds are doing. A recent study by AARP indicated that one in five workers age 45 and older has stopped putting money into a 401(k), IRA or other retirement savings account during the past year. Nearly one in four has increased work hours' to boost savings or to pay for the rising cost of many household needs.

 For some, financial advice has come too late. Many would-be retirees say this financial upheaval has simply pushed out their retirement plans. Diminished savings or investments are forcing them to continue with the status quo on the job.

"In particular, those on the verge of retirement may decide they can no longer afford to retire and will continue working," Mr. Orszag says.

However, there is the nagging anxiety of whether their jobs will remain stable through what is proving to be the start of a recession. Unemployment rates are inching up, and some fear that they could lose their jobs to younger workers who are willing to do the same work for less pay.

No, most can’t retire. Too risky even if you think you can. Brother Orszag seems to still have the word ‘recession’ stuck in his throat. How emotionally devastating it will be when he discovers the Depression is upon us.

I have always played the cards that were dealt me. Some were Aces, some were Faces, and some were twos and threes. So here we are, married 57 years, in our mid seventies with only a few laps to go. What is really sad is that there are millions of us, young and old, faced with the same future.