dreamgarden, Here's an old NYT article I dug up from January 1981. It's discusssing the Feds policy changes during October 1979. It's a time I'll certainly never forget! In October 1979, I was at Notre Dame University attending my first American Bankers Association class of a 3-year program. We attended Notre Dame for a week's worth of intense classes & then peformed work at home for a year; then back to another university & another year of home assignments...then, one more year at another university followed by a presentation given at the end of our third year. Prime changed every few days...sometimes more frequently. We were studying the secondary market. Trading terminals had been set-up for our use. We were each given $1M of Monopoly money to trade with. Every single one of us was wiped out totally within TEN MINUTES because of the prime rate changes. It changed 3 or 4 times that day alone!! I was doing construction lending at the time. My borrowers paid a rate that floated over prime, usually 3%. I can clearly remember construction loan interest rates hitting 15%+. One of my builders told me it would be cheaper for him to build the house on his VISA card! He wasn't far wrong. Permanent mortgages were 12%+ on the open market. I had a subdivision to sell out in Thornton, CO of over 400 homes. We offered 'special' financing at 10.5% in an attempt to get those houses sold. I also remember the 1970's recession & gas shortage. My ex-husband & I took turns taking a day off work to wait in line for gas. I was in line at the station just off Alicia Parkway in Laguna Hills, CA mid-week...the line was probably 1/2 mile long. Suddenly, we all heard a sharp noise & knew immediately what had happened. Frustrations had reached critical mass & somebody had shot another person who had gotten gas just before the station owner put out the "No More Gas" sign. During the 1970's recession & housing bust...REITS failed by the hundreds & the market tanked. That's when I first learned about work-outs. The world is not ending today. We're going through a tough time, sure, but it's not time to buy wheat in 50 lb. buckets. The sun came up today & it will go down tonight right on schedule. In a few years you'll be looking back at this timeframe & remembering where you were when the Dow plunged. By the time you've been thru a few recessions they aren't as unnerving. Each has its own characteristics. IMO, this one will be remembered more for banking hitting the skids than subprime. Just like we remember the 1980's for the S&L crisis rather than the policy changes that precipitated the problems. Yes, I've assumed you've not been through many recessions. If you have & have been this skittish...I don't see how you've survived?? Deep breathes. This too shall pass. /tricia PS Your posts are very hard to read with all of those strange characters. How & why does that happen?

dave_donhoff: "You can't lay this at the feet of the financial industry... the industry doesn't have the power to corrupt the natural constraints, to eliminate levels of competition, or to subsidize/lubricate one area of operation or another. ONLY governments have that capability." I disagree. The industry IS the power. This country is ruled by money and the ability to make billions...those who control that ability, control us....AND the gov't. While Wall St. was indeed enabled and abetted by lack of gov't oversight, regs, etc....they continue to hold the nation hostage by manipulating the market to drop anytime anyone even breathes the word "regulation". Case in point..the Dow rallied on the news of a bailout; as soon as noise was made about building in restrictions, oversight, etc...the Dow dropped. Message? Bail us out, but don't even THINK about trying to prevent us from doing this again as soon as we mange to cook up our next ponzi scheme. The entire finance system has been purposely and systematically engineered to operate covertly and in such a convoluted and often incomprehensible manner, with Gov't enabling and abetting the system...that most of the dirty deeds that generate millions or billions never come to light...or if so, it's too late..such as now. The bottom line is that "Wall St." has lost its credibility as the "experts" who are those best suited to choose their own SOP's. While I am hardly a fan of government regulation...I can't really see any other way to at least try to prevent them from screwing with everyone again at some point in the not too distant future....and most important, to instill some basic level of confidence in the system. Gov't regulates just about EVERY other profession much more stringently than this one...the SEC is pretty much a jokeÂand look what has happened. In addition, in respect to finance, the whole system is currently set up to foster and HUGELY reward fraud, deception and abuse...allowing penalty free activity that if you or I did the same, we would be charged with a crime. Case in point...CEO OÂNeal, formerly of Merrill Lynch, who presided over the company while all of these shenanigans were going on. He is either a moron ÂÂor a thief. Either wayÂhe ran off with millionsÂ....so far scott free...leaving us ALL holding the bagÂ.and he was THE key player in the ultimate demise of Merrill. I don't profess to know how to do it...but the double standard MUST stop. People and entities who know that they have little or no accountability should hardly be trusted with the finances that are the keystone to a healthy economy. Either that...or just give everyone a free pass on fraud and call it a day. Here is an interesting Op/Ed piece that is IMO, entirely on point: ******************************************************* Commentary: Blame boards of directors for financial mess Story Highlights Nell Minow: Wall Street directors ultimately to blame for financial crisis Boards approved huge pay unrelated to long-term performance, she says Executives reaped enormous sums while shareholders suffered, Minow says Minow: Shareholders should be allowed to vote on pay packages By Nell Minow Special to CNN Editor's Note: Nell Minow is editor and chair of The Corporate Library, an independent research company specializing in corporate governance. Minow was named one of the 20 most influential people in corporate governance by Directorship magazine in 2007 and "the queen of good corporate governance" by BusinessWeek Online in 2003. She has written more than 200 articles and co-written three books. Since 1995, Minow has also written "Movie Mom," an online parents' guide to "media, culture and values." Nell Minow says it's great when executives make a lot of money but only if they really earn it. As big Wall Street firms topple like dominoes, there is plenty of blame to go around. Failure this broad and deep takes a village, and regulators, lawyers, compensation consultants, auditors, executives, shareholders, and the press all played a part. But the people who are most responsible for the massive meltdowns of these institutions are the boards of directors. Their sole responsibility is to act as fiduciaries for the shareholders in managing risk. They not only failed to perform this task but indeed, in their approval of outrageous pay plans with perverse incentives, they all but guaranteed the current disaster. I am a capitalist. I love it when executives earn boatloads of money. But it infuriates me when they get it without earning it. If the executives' compensation is tied to the volume of business rather than the quality of business, we should expect dealmakers to be more attentive to the number of transactions than the value they create. This is the basis for much of the sub-prime mess, whose collateral damage is taking down the biggest firms on Wall Street. At Merrill Lynch, former CEO Stanley O'Neal received total compensation of more than $91 million for 2006, according to The Corporate Library's calculations. He was given that package based on performance numbers that came out before nearly $23 billion in write-downs by the company. O'Neal received more than $160 million in stock and retirement benefits while shareholders lost more than 41 percent of their investment value over the year. Three executives brought in to Merrill less than a year ago will share a $200 million payment as they turn over the company to Bank of America in a last-minute deal to help it survive. American International Group (AIG) replaced CEO Martin Sullivan after the company posted losses for two consecutive quarters totaling $13 billion. Sullivan's contract entitled him to about $68 million. His replacement, a board member who served as CEO for three months before the company was taken over by the government, will get as much as $7 million. The boards of directors approved pay that was completely disconnected to performance. This, after all, is the world of the ultimate oxymoron: the "guaranteed bonus." So we should not be surprised that executives took the money and ran. Fewer than 13 percent of public companies have claw-back policies requiring executives to return bonuses based on inflated numbers. All of the incentives are for them to inflate the numbers, take the money, and run. And that is why companies whose names used to be synonymous with stability and trustworthiness will live on through history and business school case studies as discredited, greedy and corrupt. The people who insisted that government regulation interfered with the perfect efficiency of the markets are now getting bailed out by taxpayers with some walloping welfare checks. I just hope that this time the government does a better job of protecting itself than it did with its bail-out of Chrysler almost 30 years ago and this time insists on a piece of the upside rather than a fixed repayment. If the government is going to run a business, it has to act like a business and make sure its interests are aligned with the executives. Despite the post-Enron adoption of the most extensive protections since the New Deal, a survey released this week by Kroll and the Economist Intelligence Unit found that corporate fraud rose 22 percent since last year. The option back-dating and sub-prime messes show that even the post-Enron Sarbanes-Oxley reform law and expanded enforcement and oversight cannot eliminate the severest threats to our markets and our economy. This proves that there are limits to structural solutions. Ultimately, markets are smarter and more efficient than regulation. What the government needs to do now is insist on removing obstacles to the efficient operation of market oversight. Shareholders must be able to replace directors who make bad decisions and they should have a non-binding "say on pay" vote on executive compensation as they do in the UK and several other countries. Our current system of executive compensation does not tie pay to performance, it does not provide an effective incentive to create long-term shareholder value, and it does not meet any possible market test. Executive compensation must be looked at as any other asset allocation. The return on investment for the expenditures on CEO pay is by any measure inadequate. Some have argued that the amounts at issue are so small in proportion to the assets being managed that they do not have any material impact. On the contrary, the CEO compensation in America's public companies is a leading indicator of serious problems -- and one reason my firm has consistently given most financial services companies "high-risk" ratings. And it is more than a symptom of the pervasive problem that is toppling our most respected financial services companies. It is a perversion of the market that imposes enormous and growing costs on America's working families -- as shareholders, customers, employees, and members of the community. These outrageous pay packages juxtaposed with losses in share value and jobs diminishes our credibility and increases our cost of capital. In today's global economy this is an expense we clearly can no longer afford.

"But back to money, if money is just money, then the SMs can give it up." Yes, so can the ex wife/husband, kids and all other relatives. As a child, if my dad passes before my stepmom, she will have to be taken care of until she dies. That may very well use up whatever my dad leaves because nobody knows how long she will continue to live. Her children are upset that she lasted long enough for her medical care to use up whatever she came into the marriage with. Her care costs more than her disability income she gets so... no inheritance for her kids. They aren't willing to accept that, they had to take it to court to hear a Judge tell them that there isn't anything left. Personally, the Judge should have told them that they can take over their mom's care and have her income. Oh wait, they were given that option and refused. They actually wanted to see if they were entitled to half of everything my dad has since it's 'community property'. Well, they aren't entitled to jack because my dad is alive and so is their mom. Impatient little buggers. My dad has worked hard for everything he has and if it ends up going to provide care for his wife because that's what is important to him, then he has my blessing. He's taught me what it means to do the right thing and he's taught me to be strong and make my own way in the world. All of his children have fairly successful lives and none of us 'expect' a thing. It's HIS money to do with as HE pleases and if he leaves it to his dog, that's also his business.

Hi everyone. This is the original Dalda nearly 7 years later. Amazing things happen when you have an excellent lawyer who puts things in motion and types up divorce papers under 48 hours. I was finally able to get a divorce. I sent my stepbrother, his wife and nibling on a 6 months full paid vacation. He's too busy, so he took one month off each year to visit each continent except the two poles. LoL. I have set up a educational trust fund for nibling. So nibling can study whatever and wherever nibling wants. Stepbrother is extremely well off on his own, and did not want or need it. But he took care of my lovely mother and wonderful stepfather for years. My stepfathers best friend was my lawyer, stepfather was the man who got down on one knee at 60 years to me and my sister and asked our consent to become family. He knew everything about the inheritance even about the extra millions and kept mumm and guided me, mentored me. Bless him. As for my divorce, ex-H contested it, it dragged on for 8 months, he had a grandchild. Without him being in contact with me or dear daughter for 4 months, we were invited to the birth of the child via a call and text. I promptly congratulated and sent a gift. Then continuously for 2 months me and daughter were bombarded with a few hundred photos of the child. Daughter was completely abandoned by him, distraught and blocked him on all media. Step kids did not remove their possessions even after written notice, I had to pack all their stuff and delivered it to their respective residents via courier service. With proof of delivery and acceptance. I must mention here that ex-h in the end was physically abusive to me. For years I was told I'm too dumb to do a PhD, I wouldn't be able to cope with the family and studies and work. I did not know that he had been funneling money from my account to his for 16 years. He was mentally abusive, which I didn't understand then. But during my daughters therapy sessions I broke down and discussed myself with the therapist and they pointed out exactly how I was being manipulated and brainwashed for 16 years into being under his thumb. They sued me for financial support, mental torture abuse, they WANTED 1 million of the 2 my parents left me, my family heirlooms, access to my house and lost spectacularly. I must write one line from the judges verdict, it went somewhat like this, it seems unfortunate that Mr. X and two of your children have been consumed by greed. You have failed to show one valid reason why you should be granted one cent. As for Mr. X, you should be ashamed as you have forgotten that you have another 15 year old daughter. Daughter and I faced a lot of vile words, threats from ex. He went to her school and tried to force her to sign papers. Tried to make her understand how and why she should share her good windfall. On my 40th birthday, I had a call and had to urgently visit my father's lawyer, telling a shocked and crying me that Instead of 2 million, my inheritance came up to 18 million in total. As my father bless him, left everything he had to me and my sister a few years later, which unknown to us was left to us to be given when we reach 40. I heard from ex-in laws that they flipped. In anger stepdaughter screamed, and broke stuff, ex ranted for days how he should have just sucked up and left his adult kids be, his life would be so much better. Ex got married twice. Him and his son sued me again, and lost, Spectacularly again. At 16 daughter won a full scholarship (she has mama's brains) and went on to an ivy league college with 4 GPA. She's 20 and blooming. With my consent she has set up a trust fund for anonymous merit scholarships for underprivileged students, we also support a local women's shelter for abused women and children. I rented out my house, which was too huge for only two people and moved to a town near her college, was a able to get a much better job in my field, which I did not know I was capable of, went on to do my PhD and Post Doctorate on full merit scholarship, I'm still doing it, it is extremely hard work. And two years later of my divorce I met a wonderful man through my work, my daughter and his daughter. Yes, it's weird. We took it slow, we have been married for two years now. Smooth sailing so far. We both have similar experience with exs and near same financial backgrounds, education. I must mention my amazing stepdaughter gave near same amount to the scholarship fund for underprivileged children from her own business. She has been a positive influence on daughter and guide her like my brother did me and my sister, like a protective wing. We agreed on an airtight prenup. Life is and can be bliss if you have the guts to leave your abusive and greedy mooching partner.