Even though I am so far removed from my old life working for Goldman Sachs I just can't get what's going on in the market off my brain. I am thinking about all of my friends that I left in the CA & UT offices. What are they thinking and feeling right now with all of this turmoil in the banking industry? An old co-worker said that the big boss in SLC compared this situation to a boxing match. You have your competitor, you want to win and come up on top but when you finally knock 'em out you feel really bad. Not a good thing going on right now, with all the big competitors in the industry going away right & left. There is an article
here by Glenn Beck that helps those who are unfamiliar with what's going on. Glenn compares the situation with Tickle Me Elmo (something that I do know all of us understand). Really when it boils down to it, greed combined with many other components has gotten us where we are on both of the bankers and the consumer end (oh and don't forget the gov't.). When I first started working for Goldman Sachs we were experiencing some prosperous times coming out of a fruitful IPO season in the Bay area. I mean really to keep up with all of the other thriving companies Goldman offered fully catered hot breakfast and lunches and if I craved Sushi rolls in between they too were available for snacks. Then came a little disturbance here and there and finally Sept. 11th. It has been a roller coaster & more than not, volatility has been the theme ever since. This situation that we have on hand has been noted as the worst wall street disaster since the 1930's. Good old Treasury Secretary Henry Paulsen is proposing
this. I'm not to sure how these problems are going to be fixed. I do know that we as a people really need to re-adjust our principles. As my Dad put it, "Things can always get worse". We can only do our best and not fear. If I remember correctly, the purpose on this earth doesn't have anything to do with money, right? Until late we haven't experienced too much disaster or change. These experiences again just remind us how quickly things can be shaken up.
There are many parallels to His plan that have come to mind when I have thought about the happenings in the market. Maren said in her prayer this morning, "Please help us to not fall off the road". I don't know where she got that but I thought what she prayed for was perfect. I hope that my children know that there is no easy bailout but if they do fall off they can put the plan into action and get right back on that road. I also hope the picture below is how my children will feel as they go through all of the stages of life. I hope they soar high. Maybe all of the problems on Wall street would be solved if they wore a tie like Bridger Baby:-)
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On a lighter note one of my favorite designers is even considering the downturn. Read
here.