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ls it safe yet? Was it iust a bad dream?

The one drawback of writing a monthly column is that you have to complete it three to four weeks before people read it. And, as we have all seen, things can change drastically in a matter of days. So I would like to say at the outset that I would be overjoyed for this column to be out of date and totally irrelevant by the time you read it, and for the sun to be shining again-although I doubt this will happen, as the current business conditions are unlikely to change rapidly for some time.

So what can one say? I never thought that what has happened in the financial sector in the last two weeks was possible. Not only was it possible, but the rest of the world has caught the same cold. Misery sure loves company. Today was black Monday, following a black Friday, and black every other day for the past two weeks' Your bank may suddenly have a new name over the door, assuming that door is still open. When have you ever had to consider that under your mattress may be a safer place than your bank?

The stock market gyrates 1,000 points in a day' and perhaps you've been brave enough to calculate how much you've lost in your 401/k (at this stage, I have not)' I hope many of you were quicker than me and got out in time, but I know most did not. In our lifetime, we've developed an inherent trust that while the market goes up and down, the system basically works. Few of us, including our knownothing politicians, could have anticipated what has happened. It surely is a testing time as a business owner and manager-and as an individual.

I would like to think that I am a brave investor and do not panic, but in this recent onslaught I had to fight myself not to-as did anyone who buys stocks or holds investments in the market. I don't recall a more tumultuous time during my 30 years here in the U.S. There actually may have been, but for those of us close to retirement, it sure doesn't seem like it. I try to remind myself that I have lost nothing until I sell, but I also know it could take five years or more before we get back to where we were only 12 months ago. Was the market really at 14,000 then? Seeing it at 8,400 leaves little room for doubt that we are in a recession. Major drops in overseas markets set a deep concern that most of the world is heading in the same direction'

I've never understood how some on Wall Street could be paying themselves compensation packages that equal the wealth of small nations. So, if anything positive comes of this, I hope that those responsible for this financial crisis end up in a court of law. The gentleman who earned a $15 million bonus for three weeks of work is probably smiling his head off-but surely something is wrong.

So, too, regular readers of my column know that I have no love for any politicians. I want to know how it could become as serious as it has with nothing being done. The underpinning of this economy is the housing market, and we have known that this sector was in deep trouble for twoand-a-half years. Where were all our leaders of both parties? What fiddle were they playing while Wall Street burned? The credit market failure has pushed the entire economy to the edge. The final passing of the bailout bill, equal to about 7Vo of gross domestic product, had to be done, and failure to do so would have cost far more.

Now to the good news! This is not the end, but perhaps only the beginning of government intervention-although we do need the government out of the banking business as soon as possible. This plan, designed to stop the bleeding and ease restrictions on credit, must be followed by a number of other government actions, all of which hopefully will strengthen home demand and prices by the middle of next year. This economy cannot turn around until the foreclosure issue and the housing market is dealt with.

And maybe that is the one ray of light. This torturous, long-winded election of the past two years is now ending, and maybe, just maybe, they are now getting it. It will be a wild ride for sure, but get ready. It will get better, slowly.

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