Here’s a pile of negative financial news that makes it look as if we’re heading towards h-e- double-hockey sticks in a handbasket financed with a delinquent loan.

#1: The Mortgage Bankers Association said 2 percent of all loans are now in foreclosure and late payments are up 6 percent.

#2: The Federal Reserve announced that Americans average home equity dipped below 50 percent for the first time since such data collection started in 1945.

#3: We lost 63,000 jobs in February– the worst job market in five years–says the Labor Department.

#4: The DOW dropped below 12,000.

I’ve been making it a habit lately to be the life of the party and turn conversation to the economy at any opportunity I get. I ask whether people are feeling strapped personally, or if much of what they read in the papers doesn’t jive with their personal economy.

Believe me, I’m feeling the prices rising on gas and food and am sensitive to the fact that I could lose my job and probably won’t see a pay raise any time soon. But we’re doing OK. This Washington Post story says we’re not the only ones.

What do you think? Are reports of financial instability and doom and gloom overblown? Are we collectively okey-dokey? Or do you believe things are only going to take a turn for the worse?

You have 30 minutes to answer this essay question, starting NOW.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 7th, 2008 at 3:08 pm and is filed under economy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.