Ok, so we can't find a new job, if we haven't lost one already, or, if we are employed and need to make a move. We cannot sell our home, because it's undervalued. We have lost manufacturing to other countries through NAFTA. Educating our children at all levels is impossible to finance. We are overtaxed and Now....you say the stock market that holds our retirement funds is engineered by emotions...the fear and feelings of investors. There must be a better way.

Very good article and gallery, it makes it more clear to understand what is going on and not just hearing a lot of the usual numbers of economic measures that may sound distant to us. You have shown us what the situation is, but now I think it is time to ask ourselves if we have learned anything from all this mess. I have read an article by Brian Ullitz, its title is "The Credit Crisis – What Has it Taught Us?" where he states that " We can complain all we want about the incompetence of the politicians and the greed of Wall Street. But first we need to take a look at our own behavior and see if we have acted as we should have." Hard to read, but true.

I can't wait for the election to be over. I think/presume/assume the stock market will be more stable if not a little bit better. Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama are like north and south poles on their views and plans for the country and I think it adds up to the uncertainty of the investors where to put their money at. It wouldn't make our economy recover 100% but stability is what we need. Stability is a good sign of healing. The DOW is like a furious roller-coaster I am afraid to grab a ride.

It was a good article and the point about wages stagnating and adusted to inflation shows how sad our economy is. Our fathers made more money then we did yet they were not tied down by cell phones and blackberries so in essence they were able to work less and spend more time with family.

I was just informed that I will be paying an additional 10-11% for health insurance next year. My salary doesn't even go up 3% so now I will be doing even more cost cutting. Why has no one truly addressed the thieves that health insurance companies really are.

How dare the CEO's of Lehman Brothers, AIG, Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns, and Wachovia receive the amount of compensation they did for the work they did? Did the shareholders of these companies not read the financial statements sent to them on a regular basis? How could the financial institutions approve mortgages for people who had no money? Did anybody in their infinite wisdom think beyond their own greed?

Here we are millions of people all over the world, many of us are senior citizens, stressed to the limit with worry beyond our comprehension. How do we recoup our losses when the years left are not that many?

Perhaps these billionaires should be made to repay back all of the bonuses and severance packages they received. If necessary, sell their homes, cars, yachts, art, jewellery and anything else.

The world is in complete disarray thanks to their greed. We do not want our lives to end by having our life's savings lost, our health in jeopardy due to this stress and not knowing what to expect next or when the other shoe will drop.

Marilyn A.