More Thoughts on the Economic Apocalypse

I have decided that our current economic state is like being involved in a car accident, with yourself as the driver. (not the driver of the chariot of the Economic Apocalypse, but the commander of a vehicle in a hypothetical car accident)

Yes, there were definitely things that could have been done to prevent it- driving just a little bit more defensively than usual, pausing for that additional split-second at the light, leaving the house earlier/later, nor not even getting out of bed at all. . .
or, in terms of our sorry economic state- not shopping above our means, especially in terms of real estate, viewing the stock market as this infallible system where our money would always be secure, letting really dumb lending practices slide, etc.,

(For a slightly more itemized list check out TIME magazine's article "25 People to Blame: the Good Intentions, Bad Managers, and Greed Behind the Meltdown" compiled and ranked by Massimo Calabresi, John Curran, Justin Fox, Stephen Gandel, Sean Gregory, Peter Gumbel, Barbara Kiviat, Bill Saporito, Adam Smith, and Josh Tyrangiel, TIME magazine, Thursday, February 12th, 2009
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1877351_1877350,00.html

For a slightly more succinct summary of the aforementioned article from the NY Daily News, check out Time Magazine's 25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis by Corky Siemaszko
http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/02/13/2009-02-13_time_magazines_25_people_to_blame_for_th.html

But the fact of the matter is, stuff happened and now we have to assess the damages, brush the glass out of hair, and go back to work. Wait am I the only one who went straight to work after getting T-boned in Lincoln Park in Chicago? Yeah, maybe. . . Irregardless, we emerge from this a little shaken, but also a little smarter, and a little more cautious the next time we foray into that wild and unpredictable world.

In my continuing quest to educate myself on economics I came across this amusing but (as always) informative article by one of my favorite columnists by Joel Stein,
"I Bought an Expensive House. My Bad, Not Yours," TIME magazine February 25, 2009
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1881581,00.html