A huddled mass, confused and afraid gathers at the entrance. Worried faces press against the glass of locked doors that separate them from their money. There are people inside. But nobody responds to a woman pleading at the door, "Please, please, I want to take out a portion." At first, the scene described is likely to take your memory back to the Bailey Building & Loan of "It's a Wonderful Life." But you would be wrong. This scene took place on Friday at not just one, but 33 IndyMac banks in California. And none of these depositors were greeted by a bank president willing to doll out his life savings to make sure that they were cared for.
The Los Angeles Times paints the picture for us of the second largest bank failure in U.S. history.
The federal government took control of Pasadena-based IndyMac Bank on Friday in what regulators called the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history.
Citing a massive run on deposits, regulators shut its main branch three hours early, leaving customers stunned and upset. One woman leaned on the locked doors, pleading with an employee inside: "Please, please, I want to take out a portion." All she could do was read a two-page notice taped to the door.Schumer said in a statement that the cause of IndyMac's failure was "poor and loose lending practices" that should have been prevented by more active regulation.
There are many threats to American liberty. Extremist regimes around the world long for the day of our destruction as a nation and support any and all activities to bring about that destruction. An international agenda of leveling the global economic playing field by stalling the U.S. economy is afoot. An internal shift away from free market capitalism toward socialism is gaining momentum. And a greed-inspired, debt-driven society will never avoid collapse for long. Time is running out (and perhaps it has already) to turn this ship around.
In light of what's happening, the best course of action for the average you-and-me is to pay off all personal debt as quickly as possible, live on a personal budget that spends less than you earn, and begin building an emergency savings fund that could get you through at least 3 months of unemployment. Another good idea, if you have the cash on hand to do so, is to stock up on food staples, household items, and clothing. Stockpile as much as you can now because the price you will pay on all of these items right now is much lower than what you will pay on these items six months or a year from now. For example, buy now enough toilet paper to last for a year at $1.49 per package. In six months, when everyone else is paying $1.99 for that same package, you won't be.
These are tough times. And it will get worse before it gets better. If you still have grandparents living who were in their teens or twenties in the 1930's, sit down and have a long talk with them about life during that time.
Image Source: Annie Wells/Los Angeles Times
A related developing story you need to watch (Fannie & Freddie)
This is scary. I listened to a podcast a couple of months ago called, "Your Bank is Broke." But, I really don't know what to do about it. Cash in shoeboxes?
Posted by: Ann | July 13, 2008 at 08:37 PM