Here's what's on my mind. Can we talk?

Whenever bankers work on weekends, there's reason to be concerned.  For the past couple of weeks, the specter of major announcements about significant entities in the financial world such as the takeover by the Federal Reserve of Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae and the announcement of the pending bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers occurring on Sunday evenings has been unsettling.

But, not necessarily only for obvious reasons.  The obvious reasons would be that the domino like collapse of major institutions is a serious national crisis.  The less obvious reason is that most people who I meet are NOT talking about it.  I don't think it's because people don't care.  I sense, it's largely because we've lost the ability to think critically about the implications of anything which does not appear to immediately impact our wallets.

And, that's what concerns me.  This complicated mess that is rapidly unraveling will impact our pocket books in a manner which most of us are unprepared for. And, for a long time. The housing market was simply the first major domino to fall.  So, in a sense, those of us in the real estate industry have had the opportunity to have a bird's eye view of the crisis if we are willing to educate ourselves. 

I found the video clip below about the story of Money.  As a little girl, my Father always used to tell me that money was a simple matter...It was all about TRUST.  Money is a means of exchange...period.  The erosion of TRUST in our society may prove to be the greatest asset devaluation.  A monetary system that fails the Integrity Test is in deep trouble.  Right now, the integrity of the very foundations of our government is on the line.  Did you know that?

At a recent company sales meeting, I spent an hour of instruction on the structure of the current financial crisis.  When I asked, WHO was responsible for solving the problem, someone answered...the government.  My next question was...WHO is the government?  The answer is it's WE THE PEOPLE. 

Do You Know Which President said the statement below?

I am a Most Unhappy Man...

In 1913, on his deathbed, President Woodrow Wilson was quoted as saying, "

"I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men." -Woodrow Wilson, after signing the Federal Reserve into existence