In the land of the blind, the one-eyed (wo)man is king. Irish Proverb

The 2008 turmoil in our financial markets has been a true “black swan” event. Improbable. Not expected. Life changing.

Anyone not living in a bubble could see a day of reckoning fast approaching, but we were all caught off guard by the swift fierceness of the meltdown.

Life as we know it cannot continue. This is not just about overspending by the government, the banks, or the Wall Street investment banks. This is about greed, short term thinking, bad judgment, and the pervasive self-interest of “what’s in it for me.” Change has to come at a fundamental level. It is

Time for a Renaissance

As women, we have the power to reshape the world. Ethics. Leadership. Nurturing empowerment. Intuitive thinking. Courage. Patriotism. Your strengths make a difference.  Strong women have always made a difference in our nation’s history. Women like Eliza Pinckney, Sarah Livingston Jay,  Deborah Read Franklin, and Martha Washington were revolutionary women. As Cokie Roberts cited in her New York Times Bestseller, Founding Mothers,

They did – with great hardship, courage, pluck, prayerfulness, sadness, joy, energy, and humor – what women do. They put one foot in front of the other in remarkable circumstances. They carried on.

It’s time for a second revolution, a Renaissance of enlightened thinking.

Adversity always brings opportunity. As difficult as unexpected change is to experience, we gain both strength and wisdom. As business owners, teachers, advisors, entrepreneurs, and parents, there has never been a better time to share your voice with the world and make a difference. If you provide guidance to your clients, your co-workers, your children, your students,

This is Your Time

The world is begging for leaders they can trust. The original $700 billion bailout package didn’t pass because we lack trust in our leadership as well as the system itself. It didn’t matter that the President addressed the nation. It didn’t matter that the wolf was scratching at the back door, in clear view, ready to sink his teeth into our financial security and rip it away. The administration and political system had cried wolf too many times. We didn’t trust them.

And what they did next proved us right.

Politics as Usual

As Ron Paul said, the Senate took a bad bill and made it worse. Lobbyists and special interest groups sweetened the original 3 page proposal (arrogantly submitted by Hank Paulson with Section 8 providing for no oversight) into a 451-page Emergency Economic Stabilization Act with over $150 billion added to the bailout (now coined “rescue” plan) literally buying votes with “incentives” that had nothing to do with the original bill. Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands rum excise tax, NASCAR track cost recovery , children’s wooden arrows, green technology and energy tax credits, and income averaging for Exxon Valdez litigation settlement. No. I’m not kidding.

This must end. For our children. And our children’s children.

It starts with you.

“The facts speak for themselves… Runaway spending and a rising national debt will destroy America’s future as a great nation. As more of our debt is held by those in other countries, our political independence is put at risk by our economic dependency. We must act now!

David L. Boren – President Univ. of Oklahoma, Longest-serving Chair of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee

We have reached a tipping point. What we do now will directly impact the future of our country. For better or worse. Check out this extremely informative slide show documenting our national debt. Of particular interest to those of us who are baby boomers are the enlightening, eye popping, and somewhat scary slides dealing with Social Security and Medicare programs. Trust the truth.

Who is Ross Perot and why should you listen to what he says?

With an estimated net worth of around $5 billion in 2008, Ross Perot, a Texas businessman who is probably best remembered as running as an Independent candidate for the President of the United States in 1992 and 1996, is ranked by Forbes as the 68th-richest person in America. Whatever you may think of Ross Perot, his statistics and accompanying slides are reality, gleaned from government records.

Trust the Truth – Or Face the Consequences

“A rising tide lifts all boats.
It’s not until the tide goes out that you realize who’s swimming naked.”
Warren Buffet

Merrill Lynch. Formed in 1914 and headquartered in New York City, Merrill occupies the entire 34 stories of the Financial Center building in Manhattan. Plans were announced on September 14, 2008 for Bank of America to acquire Merrill Lynch.

AIG. This was the largest government bailout of a private company in U.S. history, though smaller than the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a week earlier. According to the 2008 Forbes Global 2000 list, AIG was the 18th-largest company in the world. It was on the Dow Jones Industrial Average from April 8, 2004 to September 22, 2008.

Bear Stearns, based in New York City, was one of the largest global investment banks and securities trading and brokerage firms prior to its collapse in 2008.

Washington Mutual. A thrift holding company and the former owner of Washington Mutual Savings Bank, which was the United States’ largest savings and loan association. On September 25, 2008, (the 119th anniversary of its founding), due to a $16.4 billion 10-day bank run, the United States Office of Thrift Supervision seized Washington Mutual Savings Bank from Washington Mutual, Inc. and placed it into the receivership of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The FDIC sold the banking business to JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 billion, which re-opened the bank the next day.

Wachovia. On October 3, 2008, Wells Fargo and Wachovia announced they had agreed to merge in an all-stock transaction requiring no FDIC involvement, apparently nullifying the Citigroup deal. Wells Fargo announced it had agreed to acquire Wachovia for $15.1 billion in stock.

Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac: On September 7, 2008, James Lockhart, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were being placed into conservatorship of the FHFA (see Federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). The action is “one of the most sweeping government interventions in private financial markets in decades”.

In the land of the blind, you are a woman with vision.

Share your voice. It matters.

“It’s not the return on my money I’m worried about. It’s the return of my money.” Yogi Berra

Who would ever imagine voluntarily investing in an investment that pays only 1/20th of 1%?

Yet that is what happened when $40 billion moved into 7 day Treasury Bills. Almost as bad as putting your cash under the mattress, isn’t it?  Fear is running rampant and despite it’s low return, there is a trust factor built into treasuries that at least you will get your money back.

Warren Buffett says he has never seen anything like the current fear and tsunami of financial crisis in his lifetime. When asked if we could be facing another Depression, he said, yes, it is possible. The root cause? Derivatives and false accounting.  (Sounds like greed and self-interest to me.)  However, Mr. Buffett also has strong confidence in the ability of America to be better off ten years from now than we are today.  He is a realist, not a doomsayer.  He believes in the “bailout plan”, but also realizes this is not an immediate answer.

He refers to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation which was used during the Great Depression.  Here is his interview with PBS journalist, Charlie Rose, about the bailout plan and our country’s future.

It’s time for fundamental change and accountability. It’s time for ethical, strong leadership. It starts with us.