Right after the closing bell sounded on Friday afternoon on Wall Street, government regulators announced that they were shutting down the operations of Silver State Bank of Nevada. Bank failures are announced after trading ends on a Friday because it inevitably would lead to an industry-wide sell-off.
In 2007, three banks failed. With more than three months remaining in 2008, the count is now up to 11. This morning, the Federal Reserve took the extraordinary step of seizing the two largest mortgage lenders in the country, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Both are on the verge of collapse. The jobless rate hit 6.1 percent last week. Ordinary Americans are loosing thousands of dollars for retirement because fund managers bet money on the now sagging oil futures.
I strongly believe that the economy is the number one issue facing voters this election year. These and other indicators are a wake-up call that we must demand answers from the presidential candidates from both parties. We need to know how they propose we can get back on solid footing.