I started what turns out to be my professional career October 12, 1987.  One week later, Black Monday.  The next issue was the Savings and Loan blow-up and bail-out, Resolution Trust Corporation and the Japanese buying Pebble Beach Golf Course. 

With the recent disclosures of America's most respected financial institutions writing off billions of assets the corner of the American carpet has been pulled back.  No surprise that there appears to be a bit of dirt under it.  In fact, there is quite a bit of dirt and the Federal Reserve, Treasury and those respected financial institutions are doing their best to make it not look so bad that know one would want to look under the whole carpet. 

Andrew Cuomo, AG for the state of New York stood up the other day and grabbed the corner of the carpet and told the world he was going to rip it up and see just how bad it is.  When you think about how housing prices spiraled up it is pretty easy to explain.  A small fudge on the first house price, followed by another based on the first, followed by another based on the second, and so on and so on until it is a full blown trend.  Loose money by the Greenspan Fed had to go somewhere and if not technology stocks why not real estate. 

So what if the carpet is ripped up just how bad could it be?  I do not want to think about it.