DOLLARS AND DREAMS

The once mighty dollar nosedives again and again--The fire sale seems to be full-on--And those being burned will be ordinary hard working Americans--One rumor making the rounds declares China is now ready to decouple its currency from the dollar and the subsequent speculation is expectations the dollar will drop 25% of its value --Very suddenly it will take $3.75 to purchase the recently exhorbitant $3.00 gallon of gasoline--The 30/60 mile per day commute will just edge a goodly large number of those indebted Americans over the cliff into bankruptcy-- Minus gasoline purchases the April retail sales numbers show consumer purchases nearly negative-- recessionary spending.--The horrific(even reported as price gains over year to date median prices nationwide are down from $243,000/Jan.'06 to$217,000/April'06) housing numbers portend doom and rising foreclosure in the bubble-- Prices and sales are dropping not just exclusively in the formerly hot markets but elsewhere as well--Dreams are being devalued dramatically and the standard of living of millions of Americans is in the water circling around the drain-- Millions of commuters are faced with the choice of making their monthly credit card payments mortgage payments and utility bills or filling the gas tank so they can get to work-- How many non-performing loans can the banking system sustain? How many failed pension plans from the private sector can the Feds bailout?-- The present government when it evinces enough courage to actually face the reality of the current situation seems caught between the incapability of meaningful response and outright paralysis-- Will photo-op politics save the day?-- The wilting failure of the U.S. Congress to fashion an Immigration bill clearly delineates the pathetic disappearance of courage and statesmanship -- In D.C. everyone's finger is in the wind and too many palms are under the table-- Incumbent fund raising seems more important than the ship of state--The old order of the world we have been accustomed to is fading away-- The new world order is chaos--