"Reflection on a Year of Crisis" - Just another day in the mortgage mess

I knew in February 2008, after reading Chairman Bernanke's book, the demise our future held, which was why I had created my petition in April 2008; which is on my blog. I faced my fears in September 2008; and being someone on Main Street there was not a thing any of us could do, except watch and pray. It was a true sense of helplessness, panic, and fear that swept the globe. Who knew the true depths of this crisis? Who knew what institutions were involved at the time? Who knew what bank was going to fail the following day? Who knew? We, on Main Street, had no clue.

All I knew last year, was our future recovery was going to be a step-by-step recovery, once the panic was over, because most of us fell off a cliff long before anyone realized it; and the only thing I had to guide me through that mess was Chairman Bernanke's panic theory. That was such a terrifying moment. Who would have thought? There was nothing for me to grab onto except his book, his theory, what Joe Kern had said on CNBC, and history. I had not felt fear like this, since 9/11. In my opinion, this financial crisis was the truest form of financial terroism that ripped the financial backbone of not only our country, but countries around the world, to shreds.

Furthermore, I knew based on Chairman Bernanke's book, when the banking crisis peaked, I could apply his theory to this crisis, and know a recovery would happen 12 months from the peak; putting the start of a recovery at the end of October/November of this year. I am not an expert on this stuff, but I knew I interpretted as much as I could, correctly, from Chairman Bernanke's book. I truly believed Congress should have intervened in 2007, not 2008. Had they done this, would it have saved these failed banks from their own demise, by providing them with the necessary reserves/capital; therefore, steering off a panic? We may never know.

As stated in Chairman Bernanke's speech below, "...As severe as the economic impact has been, however, the outcome could have been decidedly worse. Unlike in the 1930s, when policy was largely passive and political divisions made international economic and financial cooperation difficult, during the past year monetary, fiscal, and financial policies around the world have been aggressive and complementary. Without these speedy and forceful actions, last October's panic would likely have continued to intensify, more major financial firms would have failed, and the entire global financial system would have been at serious risk. We cannot know for sure what the economic effects of these events would have been, but what we know about the effects of financial crises suggests that the resulting global downturn could have been extraordinarily deep and protracted..."

No matter how late to the game everyone was in 2007, I still believe Chairman Bernanke had game. He responded to the public with kindness, concern, respect, and consistency. He delivered.

Ben Bernanke's initials are BB, basketball. Knowing this, I have to say he was the captain of the team. He was the point guard of the team. He directed the team to a near victory. I had a dream I was playing basketball, which I did play for many years as a kid, and we won. I have to believe we are winning the fight against this economic war. It is going to take a collective effort on everyone's part to win this game. We have to win!

Chairman Ben S. Bernanke
At the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Annual Economic Symposium, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
August 21, 2009
Reflections on a Year of Crisis

http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/bernanke20090821a.htm

Here is a quote from Chairman Bernanke's speech, "...One very clear lesson of the past year--no surprise, of course, to any student of economic history, but worth noting nonetheless--is that a full-blown financial crisis can exact an enormous toll in both human and economic terms. A second lesson--once again, familiar to economic historians--is that financial disruptions do not respect borders. The crisis has been global, with no major country having been immune..."

P.S. - My P.S. to this blog entry. You did not have to be a student of economic history to understand the devastion a full-blown financial crisis can exact on humanity and economies throughout the world. I am not a student of economic history, my degree was in Behavioral Science. I learned what I know from books, watching Joe Kern on CNBC years ago, and reading history, etc. I knew when the financial sector lost more jobs in the second half of 2007, than the airline industry after 9/11, we were in trouble. The job losses in my industry started falling left and right, back in March 2007. This to me, is the predicator of a looming financial disaster in the future, for generations to come. No one seemed to pay attention to the job losses in my industry, at the onset of the subprime crisis. Just a thought for future generations.

Stay tuned...I have more to share. Just another day in the mortgage mess!