Chilly Friday

Turned cold overnight...back down into the 20s this morning and it is supposed to stay cooler than normal for the next few days. I forgot to put the birdbath heater in last night and this morning all my feathered friends, the chipmunks and the skwerls were standing around the edge looking for a drink. I poured a bucket full of very hot water on it and now everyone is sipping away. It should stay thawed until the temp gets above freezing.

Not much encouraging news on the economic front. The DOW set a twenty year low yesterday, people drawing unemployment checks hit 5 million and I am going to add myself to that list next week for the first time in my life. A wee bit depressing. Paul Krugman is not very encouraging this morning either and is forecasting a very long time before we see the clouds begin to part.

So people at the Fed are troubled by the same question I’ve been obsessing on lately: What’s supposed to end this slump? No doubt this, too, shall pass — but how, and when?

To appreciate the problem, you need to know that this isn’t your father’s recession. It’s your grandfather’s, or maybe even (as I’ll explain) your great-great-grandfather’s.

I could have used a little better forecast from Paul but I guess it is better than hiding your head in the sand and banking on the lottery to get you through.