Eventually It Sinks In

Tonight I can say I get it. The economy is grinding to a halt. It's really bad. And I finally get it.

At work we call it the drip method: hear the same thing over and over again, eventually it sinks in. Drip. Drip. Drip. Oh, I think the roof is leaking. Drip. Drip.

I hear it on CNN, I hear about it at work, I talk about it with family and friends. But all of a sudden, I'm on a different level with it. Like all those anecdotes and statistics have finally penetrated the outer layers. Unemployment is rising. Credit is at a standstill. Money is not flowing. People are not spending. Drip. Drip.

Now that I understand that the roof is leaking, actually leaking, I'm afraid. How bad is the damage? How much worse is it going to get before it starts to get better?

As a kid, I remember being afraid of war. As an adult, I'm afraid of another Great Depression. Not that war doesn't still scare me, but it's only ever slaughtered the economy, not my family, before my very eyes.

In 30 years, I've seen a few economic peaks and valleys. During the peaks, we forget the valleys. But in the valleys, we long for the peaks. It didn't take long to descend into this current valley --- it was so fast, in fact, that I think that's why I've been disoriented. And denial is a funny thing. We think it's not going to touch us. But our global economy is too linked. It affects us all.

So, to paraphrase an old Saturday Night Live bit, "hear me now and listen to me later". We're in the shit. At this point we can only hope it won't take too long, or take too many of us out, before it starts to get better again.