So several months ago, I got it in my head that I wanted to play around in the stock market.. that things had gotten so bad, stocks were so far off their highs and they’d fluctuate every few days. It’s $5 today.,$8 tomorrow, and $10 the day after and then it would go down to around $5 again.

While I was experimenting with things, I set up a profile in Google that let me track stocks of interest. You could tell it that you had X amount of shares per stock and it tells you how you’re making out financially.

Based on a 7200 close today, I’m sure you know what those numbers look like today.

One of the companies that I’d picked was a silver mine. I thought, with the dollar tanking, precious metals would skyrocket.  When I looked today, their stock was worth 3 cents a share! There was also a notice about how their stock is being delisted.

I thought that was a curious thing…for a silver mine to be in bankruptcy. I mean, can’t you just mine more to pay your debt? But then I got to thinking about how there’s a lot more to the banks and their toxic assets and all of us living beyond our means for the last 30 yrs than meet’s the eye.

Allow me to explain. Over the years, we all got a taste of percieved wealth. We had access to credit cards, easy car loans, homes that increased in value rapidly, thus allowing us to borrow against it for home repairs, vacations, to pay off credit cards, whatever.  Being able to do all those things, made you feel wealthy.

But it was all done on the wimpy philosophy. You know. I will gladly pay you tuesday, for a hamburger today!

Well folks. Today is Tuesday and everyone wants their money! The only problem is.. none of us have any.

So I rambled on about all that.. now to the point I want to make.

All they are talking about on the news is the banks and the auto industry failing. I’ve even fallen victim to this and I carry on about the trickle down theory when it comes to those jobs. People work in factories that make auto glass, carpeting, etc.. and when the car dealers go under, so do those plants.

But today, when I saw that silver company being delisted it really hit it home for me. It’s EVERY business that is staring over the abyss right now. I’m sure there’s some exceptions, so no need for flame emails, but the majority of business was run just like that. “Get your business a line of credit!”, the amex commercials said all day long.. and they never screwed around there. You always got like $30-60k on those babies. They take out loans for more equipment, expansion, car or truck loans, what have you.. and now. They aren’t making the money they are used to making.

This is what you really need to fear. Not so much the banks and the auto industry, but ALL business. Look at all the companies cutting costs and downsizing. It’s because they are freakin’ broke! They are all standing around holding a bag full of debt going.. awwww shit. Now what? The government can’t bail out everyone.. and they aren’t going to either.

So in the end, how many businesses are insolvent right now? That seems to be the word tossed around lately. I bet it’s at least 50%.

If what I am seeing is right, there is no light at the end of the tunnel at this point. It’s just a long, scary ride in the dark and it might even make you vomit before it’s over!