… and where it’s gonna stop, nobody knows. The market was down last week close to record numbers, hitting a record point drop one day (though not a record percentage drop on any one day), and look at today — up a record 936 points and the fourth most on a percentage basis. And why? On some assurances that governments would back up some more banks in an attempt to get the credit flowing again. My question is, didn’t we know sometime last week that these kinds of governmental actions were gonna happen? If so, what made today so special? Maybe it’s because all of the banks are closed today here in the States (though that doesn’t adequately explain what happened overseas); not a lot of bad stuff can happen on a day when everybody’s closed for business, I guess.
Happy Columbus Day, indeed.
A lot has been made recently of how this spreading financial crisis may hurt the ideal of the US and this (mostly) on-again, (rarely) off-again infatuation with free-market, laissez faire economic policy (the fluctuation of which seems to swing in syncronicity with whichever party’s in power at the time). There are large differences popping up, revolving around exactly which brand of socialism (and how much) fixes these problems. A far cry from laissez faire, indeed; what is the world to think? In any case, I think there’s a fair amount of bitterness that has been building up over other issues and is spilling out now because of this crisis; a number of countries seem to think that the US is at fault for this or that, or is causing the downfall of civilization as we know it, or whatever. (Just ask Hugo C. from Venezuela. He’d be happy to offer his opinion to any and every available camera, I’m sure.) While market regulation was rather evidently lacking for several years and we have this nasty habit of getting into debt on a very wide scale (which ends up involving all sorts of other countries who until recently were perfectly happy to buy our debt-based securities), I don’t think too many sovereign wealth funds and the like had guns to their head, with a menacing person shining one of those cop-movie spotlights in their face, saying, “Buy this opaque and needlessly complex debt-vehicle instrument… or else!” So, let’s all get together and do what’s necessary to make sure this doesn’t happen again — how ’bout that?
In other news, I got to go bowling today, which was great, but even better was that I got to go bowling with very, very good (and very, very cute) company today. (Yeah, yet another thing to keep me away from blogging. 😛 ) Hanging out with her has had a very good affect on me recently. It’s even got me writing music again, thinking about drawing and other generally artsy things that I get out of the habit of doing when I get too busy. (Yeah, yeah, I know — sounds like some sappy Carpenters song, but it’s the truth.) I must admit that, while I didn’t think I was too bad off before, there ain’t nothing like good, old-fashioned companionship and camaraderie.
Well, almost time to watch the Caps again. More later, if I get around to it.