I PREDICT...

Nowadays some homeowners are walking away from their homes just to get out of their mortgage. I predict the next group will be truck and SUV owners. Since it's so expensive to drive them and the trade-in value is virtually worthless, these gas guzzler owners are faced with quite a conundrum. They're too upside down on their loan to get out of the car, they can't sell it, and they can't afford to drive it. I believe people will either let them be repo'd, or simply abandon them or purposely leave them vulnerable for theft. Then they can collect the insurance and/or just take the repo hit on their credit and go buy an economy car. What will this do to the loan companies and banks? Time will tell. Does anyone else see a depression on the horizon?

Yesterday they were considering a bill taxing the oil companies. The Republicans spoke out against it very strongly. My conspiracy theory...Lobbyists under the umbrella of the Bush administration are offering big bucks to squash any such bill. They are all making money hand over fist at the expense of the American people. Have I made mention today of how much I loathe our government?

That brings up another sore point. How is oil a tradeable commodity??? Oil is a natural resource necessary for the day-to-day function of American life. It's not gold, orange juice, pork bellies, or anything like that. I could get thru the day without gold and orange juice, but oil is something we all rely on...private sector and business alike. The fact that Wall Street traders can drive the price of oil up for a profit at the expense of the entire population is completely illogical to me.