I confess that I have been avoiding writing on the economy. Not for want of trying, I've probably tried to write a good half dozen posts that last two weeks on some aspect of the mess we face but time and again, I give up half way through in frustration and utter depression. Instead, I've focused on more cheerful subjects like Pakistan and Afghanistan. I'll take a score of failed states over our failing economy. And failing it is.

Tonight, well, actually, this morning since I can't sleep thinking about this mess that has enveloped the globe, the frightful bleed in jobs raises serious questions as to the depths of this downturn. This past Friday was a dark and dismal day. The US economy lost 2.6 million jobs in 2008 and it is now losing 600,000 a month. Basic math skills tell me that's quite a clip. The unemployment rate is now 8.1%. Now that's an interesting number because as Paul Krugman points out in his Behind the Curve op-ed in today's New York Times it is the number that the Obama Administration planned for year-end 2009 number. It's not-even mid-March and we have blown through it. That's certainly a worry in more ways than one.

There's more...