From TheStreet.com:


This post originally appeared on RealMoney Silver on Dec. 16.

When I understudied for Doug Kass in The Edge, his RealMoney Silver trading diary, way back in February, my theme was "That '70s Show," with the concern at that time being surging inflation caused by the Fed's massive money creation in the second half of 2007.

Well, Fonzie, those certainly were "Happy Days," being pre-Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae Lehman Brothers, American International Group, General Motors and Madoff. Inflation did surge in the first half of 2008, but the financial crisis subsequently intervened, and now we are plunging into what could be the worst recession of the post-War era.

The following quote effectively sums up the feeling:

Not for many years has a Christmas season begun with so many tidings of spreading discomfort and lack of joy about the U.S. economy.... The nation is now also plunging deeper into a recession that seems sure to be the longest and could be the most severe since World War II.... For many Americans, the Yuletide will be a time of less elaborate meals, infrequent parties, fewer and cheaper presents.