On the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi (about 40 miles south of La Crescent) there is a Catholic cemetery. Non-Catholics are included amongst those interred there. My wife and I have purchased a plot so that, one day, we may rest next to our loved ones. The land area of the cemetery would be, approximately, 5 acres. The area is equally divided into quarters with a well-kept drive that delineates the four quarters. The northeast and northwest sections are utilized frequently. The Southeast and southwest quarters are barren except for one distant stone. I can't tell you how many times that, while visiting my loved ones, my eyes have been drawn to that stark monument. I have gone to the monument, but time has made the inscriptions unreadable. When we bought our plot, I queried the cemetery manager about the stone so isolated from all of the others. He replied that it was the grave of a young Catholic man whom had committed suicide. The church would not allow his burial among those who were without sin.

"According to the theology of the Catholic Church, death by suicide is considered a grave or serious sin. The chief Catholic Christian argument is that one's life is the property of God and a gift to the world, and to destroy that life is to wrongly assert dominion over what is God's and is a tragic loss of hope."

The locals don't like to talk about that solitary monument.

I've been following strings dealing with our economic woes, with interest, and have noted that most  of the posters have exhibited frustration, fear, and anger relative to the unemployment  situation.  I, also, sensed that most posters are expecting that this weak economy will pass.  I, fortunately, have never been the victim of a "reduction in forces."  ( Was asked to resign a couple of times, but those events were self-inflicted).  I do know what it feels like to be "a day late and a dollar short!"

We have all been informed what opinions are like.
If you have not been informed, ask around...Someone will inform you.  So here is my opinion on the economy and our future:

Eric Hoffer, author, longshoreman and adviser to John Kennedy wrote some lengthy dissertations relative to economics.  One of his strongest assertions (not exactly quoted) was that no successful economy was ever created that did not create "material" products that another tribe, hamlet, city , state or country was not desirous of.  Be the object grain, spices, machinery or sea shells, objects preferably manufactured from raw materials taken from same area of origin, optimized the success of the trade relationship.  Hoffer emphasized that service industries created little stability because knowledge knows no boundaries.

I drove the turnpikes from Chicago to the East coast, for the first time, in the early-sixties.  At night, the polluted skies were aglow from the towering stacks of refineries, steel mills and various other heavy manufacturing industries.  This stretch of America was the backbone of our middle class.  Today, that same stretch is known as "The Rustbelt."  If you have read this far, it isn't necessary for me to explain the sundry forces that decimated our manufacturing base.  As off-shoring decimated our middle-class, our tax base was equally decimated.  Then, followed the deterioration of our infrastructure.  How could our middle class sustain its' standard of living?  Easily!  Loosen the credit standards!  Import CCPS (Cheap Chinese Plastic S**t) as a replacement for items that had once been manufactured here.  Capital for internal investment has left our shores years ago.

Some skills can't be off-shored, but there will never be enough jobs available to off-set those which are gone...Forever.  This country is undergoing drastic economic change.  We are not experiencing a "dip" in our economy.  What the future holds, I have no idea.  I don't buy that America's ingenuity will return us to the word-prominence we once enjoyed.

The New York Mafia runs illegal rackets...Scams, protection, union deals, gambling, drug distribution, prostitution, etc. Most of their activities are unlawful and there are efforts made by law enforcement to control such activities.
Wall Street does not violate many laws because our legislators and regulators are paid not to write laws that protect the average investor. The only illegal activity that gets much attention is insider trading. Candidly speaking, if you aren't getting profitable tips and you are working on Wall Street, you are either very honest or very stupid. I strongly believe that the "real" profit made in the finance industry stays in New York or is transferred to off-shore accounts.
I am not knowledgeable relative to Mafia involvement with Wall Street. If I had knowledge, I can assure you that I wouldn't paint a bulls' eye on my chest by posting it here. Smarter folks than I are paid generous salaries to seek out those types of connections. Plus, they have subpoena powers and body guards.