One Day at a Time

Friend,
The world is not coming to an end. No one is saying that it is. As I read the news, I'm often amazed, astounded and downright angry. How our so called leaders were able to lead us into this financial maelstrom is beyond me. It's nearly as infuriating as what happened in Germany so many years ago. Why smart folks like us didn't say STOP -- PROVE YOURSELF -- PROVE YOU ARE DOING THE RIGHT THINGS is beyond me. As Wall Street Crumbled, we sat back and said: Patience, this will turn around. As we laughed at John McCain stating that the fundamentals of our economy are strong, we never stood up to DO anything. We sat back and waited for Congress -- maybe sent an email here or there, but really just waited. Where is OUR VOICE?
Many wealthier than I said repeatedly, Have Patience., I have a hunch that this is about to turn around. They said this as they liquidated their investments. Interesting! As I said: Some wealthier than I. I did NOT say WISER. And definitely not always kinder.

Now Mr. Maddoff has admitted his guilt in the largest Ponzi scheme ever. Many wealthier than I were involved. How could they not have been? It stands to reason that if red flags waved as early as 10 years ago, and often, that other people had to know and be involved. There is NO WAY that ONE MAN can run a $50 Billion Ponzi Scheme for 10 years and do it ALONE.
Come on, people? This is obvious.

Note that I said "Many Wealthier than I" many times. Those same folks have held power positions in government, business and finance for decades.

Who do we trust? How do we get through this?

Faith, One Day at a Time. But more than that. Those who don't act, act out of fear late in the game. This is not just an angry rant, guys. This is your call to act. Let us all think of ways we can act to expect those in these self righteously arrogant positions are held to a high level of accountability. Every day! For me, it means checking things out. It means trusting my hunches, not the "hunch" of some other power broker.

I'm pissed. I'm disappointed. I'm still some days hopeful, but mostly focused on living one day at a time. I don't know if I'll recoup my losses. I don't know if we'll keep our jobs or maintain a strong level of clients. The only thing I do know is that every day I wake grateful to be alive, be loved, and be healthy. Adn every day, I wake not sure if I want to read the news.
So what I believe I can do is the same that we ALL can do. WE can read and educate ourselves. We can eliminate the midlle layers and invest on our own. We can do more than mere due diligence -- we can really read and learn about what we are investing. We do not need to rely on the promise of another not so objective party. We can take their advice, then go home and study.

There is no reason to blindly follow anyone. There is no room in my life for those kind of mistakes. Not any more. And you shouldn't either.