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When do I get MY piece of the pie? I am SO SICK of supporting others who made bad financial decisions, were wastrels, didn't save, don't know how to manage a budget, etc., etc.

Whether you like it or not we are where we are.

I agree the Dems got us where we are, Bush tried to prevent problems at Fannie and Freddie, but he didn't get the job done. The Banking Queen had his way with us, and we have been sorely used. But, recriminations and complaints won't fix the mess. So, now we all have to get out of the problem together.

There are more than a few of us who have been prudent in building up our resources. But, the combination of stocks and real estate has brought us down pretty close to a dangerous point.

Now that the damage has been done, the real issue is not how should we have prevented it, but how do we get out of the depression we are in.

I would a lot rather see undeserving people get a gift from the government, even forgiveness of 50% of their mortgages, if it puts a floor under the housing market and prevents a complete collapse, than see all of us ruined.

By the way, the RATs are in charge. They are going to do it whether you, or even a whole lot of us complain. So quit wasting your energy.

Let me tell you about my plan. It is really pretty simple. Poor people are poor for reasons within themselves, conservatives know that. So what happens when the government takes out money away from us and gives it to poor people. The answer comes in two parts. First they spend it, if they saved money they wouldn't be poor. Secondly, this causes inflation.

Now, my job, and yours too, is to figure out how to take advantage of the situation and get our money back from the people it has been given to. The answer is to invest in things which poor people buy and things which will appreciate to keep up with inflation.

Whatever pittance I have left is going to go into tobacco stocks and rental real estate.

Alas, after serious deflation and rejustment of prices of capital goods, rental property will not command the price you need.

At the moment there's a shortage of rentals, but that will disappear as new buyers snap up bargain rate existing housing at very low mortgage interest rates.

Don't invest in gold or silver either ~ the guys in the "super atom" business are rapidly developing manufacturing processes to create all of that stuff that anyone could need ~ best bet is ETFs ~ that way you invest in an "industry" or a "market segment" on your terms, and are not distracted by companies engaged in head to head competition regarding a single product or a narrow range of services.

You reap the benefits of the surges in the industry or market sector as a whole, and with very little loss compared to other methods for part time investors.

I'm looking for ETFs WITHOUT cement plants, container ships, automobile manufacturers and facilities in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts or New Mexico.

Believe it or not it's actually difficult to identify such ETFs! The cement plants are everywhere ~ but it's going to be a decade before construction is up to its old pace.