Know anyone in this situation? I do. Pretty soon, we may only have to look in the mirror.

Last week I waded full into the political river, straddling the political divide like an Adonis.  I posted the following:

But, something got done, and that ain’t nothin.  Global markets are souring on the American dollar, so maybe that will serve as a wake-up call.  We took a ride on a really dangerous precipice, so perhaps that will focus the nation’s attention.

Well, I just wanted to follow up on that post, and wonder if the populous has begun paying attention.  Those big thumps you’re hearing are the fall of dominoes all over the world.  Unlike the Great Depression of the 30s, we can watch the fallout in real time.  If you’re paying attention, you’re seeing things we haven’t seen in decades, or perhaps even in our lifetime.  Good.  A change is a-comin’, and it desperately needs to.  I’m old enough to notice the following sad, yet surreal events:

• The S&P downgrade happened after  the budget deal.  While some sort of deal is better than no deal at all, it is clear that the folks who grade investments think we don’t have much of a chance to pay back all our debt.  Moody’s, S&Ps chief competitor, is “threatening” a downgrade.   For a long time, the US Treasury Bond was the benchmark, and ratings were determined as compared to our national debt.  Now the benchmark has been downgraded.  Hmmm.
• In Connecticut, I’m paying taxes retroactively.  It’s a fact – I’m paying income taxes retroactively to cover what I owed for January through June of this year, because the state is in big trouble.  Add to this, a governor elected with the enthusiastic support of unions is now laying off those union members by the thousands.  Yes, political friends are turning on one another.
• Only one member of the President’s original economic team is still on board.  Secretary Geitner is still in office, but everyone else tapped to help in this crisis left.  Do I hear strains of, “Nearer, My God, To Thee?”
• Rises in the following: random violence, suicide, joblessness, bullying.  None of these events connect directly to the economy, but our society is falling apart.  It feels a bit like 1937 – the year of the Hindenburg disaster, the Spanish Civil War, the beginnings of violence that would be WWII, and no real help for the US economy.  (By the way, for many years the government has reported jobless rates based on unemployment claims.  If your unemployment benefits expire and you’re still not employed, you are then considered “employed” according to this figure.  Just sayin’.)