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Are you saying that we are not having a Financial Meltdown right now ????

I think the author is referring to the Stock Market and other securities that seem to be going up in value even as we speak.

These financial institutions are still playing the same game -- They're producing securities backed by home mortgages and commercial loans, often repackaging their old mortgage securities as new products. Heard this story before ?

There is STILL very little transparency, so it is difficult to understand exactly what risks these firms are taking.

Because these securities are backed by home mortgages and commercial loans, they could easily be vulnerable to home mortgage defaults or a wave of defaults on commercial loans that many analysts expect is on the way. Huge amounts of commercial loans are coming due over the next two years. Many banks are balking at rolling over these loans because the underlying values of the buildings backing the loans have slipped so much and because of uncertainties about the economy.

To summarize what the writer is saying -- YOU AIN'T SEEN NUTHIN' YET.

The rosy scenarios coming out of Washington are pure fantasy. Rampant inflation is looming and will probably strike sometime within the next year. The current level of massive government spending is unsustainable and will bankrupt the country if it hasn’t already. Wall Street does not reflect these predicaments and yet they are extremely important to the financial and economic health of our country. IMHO that is why the stock market rallies are artificial and do not reflect realism.

I have the sneaky feeling that the corporations are doing quite well thank you, with half their employees laid off.

The gummint isn’t the only one with lots of waste fraud and abuse.

Businesses are now having to operate more efficiently with much less staff.

This is not to say that everyone laid off was redundant or a useless employee.