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Change Coming At Breakneck Speed

Nothing can be taken for granted in new climate

By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com

October 2, 2008

Personal Finance • Staying Healthy in a Sick Economy • Consumer Confidence Sinks to Historic Low • How Retirees Can Survive the Bear Market • Are Men Hardwired to Overspend? • Shopping Poll Holds Bad News for Retailers • 533,000 Jobs Lost in November • Feds Report More Signs of Recession • Consumer Confidence Rebounds in November • Cheap Oil May Be Economic Stimulus • Job Security Lacking This Holiday Season • An Upside to the Down Market: A Lower Tax Bill • Americans Tap Savings to Cope with Economy • Economists' Panel Sees Prolonged Recession --- • More Personal Finance News

When Barack Obama launched his presidential campaign on the theme of "change," he didn't know the half of it. So far, 2008 is shaping up to be all about change.

Far starters, its just a month from the election and Obama and his opponent John McCain are in essential agreement on what has suddenly become the most pressing issue of the campaign – to what extent should the government intervene to prevent a collapse of the credit market.

When the Senate voted Wednesday night to adopt a revised bill to authorize the government to purchase up to $700 billion in bad mortgage debt, both Obama and McCain voted for the measure.

A similar measure failed to pass the House of Representatives Monday. One big reason was conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats found common ground. These most bitter partisan enemies suddenly found they were in rare agreement in their opposition to the bill.

In Wednesday night's Senate vote approving the bailout, the opposition was also bipartisan. Ten Democrats and Independents joined 15 Republican senators in voting no.

Change is likely to come to the economy, regardless of whether a bailout bill passes or not. Gone are the days of easy credit. The credit card commercial that declares "I want it all, I want it now," seems jarringly obscene.

The sky high gasoline prices of two months ago now seem almost trivial concerns. Instead of worrying whether they can afford $4 gas, consumers are wondering whether they'll be able to keep their cars. Buying a new car, at the moment, seems almost beyond the realm of possibility. Earlier this month, the world's largest Chevy dealer closed its doors.

There's also a new pecking order among banks. The once powerful Wall Street investment banks that controlled much of the economy for years have been brought to their knees. Venerable names have disappeared overnight. Now, staid, boring commercial banks are the new power centers, buying up the assets of failed institutions for pennies on the dollar.

Investors have gone from asking "how can I make money in this climate" to "how can I keep my money in this environment." The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has become the federal government's busiest agency, with the possible exception of the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve.

In hindsight, it's clear that change has been in the air for months. But September 2008 is when it arrived in full force, with dizzying speed and not-yet-knowable results.

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