M.K. of Parkman, ME Did you ever hear the one about Mothers wrapping their child's feet in gauze to keep them from growing because they couldn't afford shoes? Happened to my Father, and he lived with abnormally small feet for the rest of his days. Depression is not a "state of mind". Sadly, it is happening. Take a look at our situation by next spring...and it doesn't even matter WHO becomes President in January!!!report abuse

eridon of Saco, ME In other words, do things like they were being done when I arrived in Portland over 40 years ago. Every house in the inner city of Portland was privately owned, and lived in and inherited by the same family for generations. Sometimes, the "in law" apartment was empty, so it would get rented -- for ten bucks a month. No one locked doors because there was no crime. The streets were so clean, we walked bare foot in the summer time. You could leave a pickup truck full of tools, or whatever, in the street overnight and no one would touch it. I was only making 80 a week, and flew away in airplanes every weekend. Air fare at the Portland airport was $35 round trip. I lived like a queen. You could rent a 300 acre farm for 75 a month, or buy it for 2500.

The inter-generational thing worked great, and it kept housing costs very low because you can't compete with zero for a housing payment. On paper we were supposedly poor, but in reality, we were rich in every other way.

Then the speculators came with out of state money -- worse!! It was out of state financing. They bought up buildings a dozen at a time, sold them, chopped them up, turned it over and over. No space for families, only transients and young people. Families had to leave town and buy homes in the predator developers' inflated sprawl. And there it went, gone forever.report abuse

Bruce Rioux of Burlington, VT Depression? We aren't in any depression. That's silly. Take a look around and see people driving brand new cars. So many Americans incredibly overweight from eating TO Much. No one is starving in America today.report abuse

T Eman of Augusta, ME WASHINGTON - The Bush administration, acting to avert the potential for major financial turmoil, announced Sunday that the federal government was taking control of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Are the social security funds still in the lock box?

Vote for "change". Why, are the dollars all gone?

Were the politicians we're being asked to vote for to change things in power when this economy went south?report abuse