Bailout Fails: So what happens next . . .

I think that Clark Howard put it best:

By now you've heard that the federal bailout plan failed in the House of Representatives. Remember, the first job of a politician is to get re-elected. So it is any wonder that -- weeks before an election -- elected officials balked when faced with a bill that was unpopular and little understood by the average person?

Now the inevitable question: What's next? First, Clark believes we are in a recession and it will deepen. Second, this is not the eve of the Great Depression. We may have unemployment, but it will be more like the kind we faced in the '80s -- not the '30s. This is not gloom and doom.

In the post-Civil War years, we had 8 major recessions in the United States if Clark remembers his history correctly. Then in 1907, we had a credit market failure that had to be corrected by JP Morgan -- the man, not the company.

Any recovery will take a while. We borrowed and spent money that we can't pay back. We have millions of houses to work off as excess. Nothing can recover until the housing market returns to equilibrium.

During the recession in the early '80s, we had mortgage interest rates that were above 20%! But we went through difficult times and recovered. We just have to work off the excess -- too much house, too much car, too much debt, too much government spending.

Working off the excess means our standard of living will be slightly lower for the foreseeable future. So you'll have to live on less of what you make. It won't be pretty or happy, but it is not the Great Depression.[Clark's Shownotes bold and italics added for emphasis]

Start saving everyone.

How to Influence a Conversation . . .

I am a fan of the Lifehacker site and blog. They recently had a post with some very good tips on how to hack a conversation. This details different methods to control a conversation and although most are pretty basic and common sense, they can be very effective if you keep them in mind and practice them until they become habitual.

Additionally, it is nice to be able to read what the other person is thinking or feeling during a conversation. For men, this may just help our attention span by giving us something else to do during the conversation to keep our attention, and for all of us, it can help direct a conversation for our benefit.

A whole lot more than just words passes between people who are talking, so a few simple conversational skills can help you recognize what's really being said and help you lead the discussion your way. Learn how to read body language and facial expressions, de-code euphemisms, ask sensitive questions, criticize constructively, get what you want in negotiations, cut off chatterboxes, and more with our top 10 conversation hacks.

Visit their blog at [LifeHacker]