Economic Hangover

I woke up this past Saturday morning with a hangover. I wasn't drunk when I drove home so I couldn't figure out where the headache came from that woke me at 5am. My wife and I had gone out to dinner with another couple that was celebrating their 16th anniversary. I had met Frank at a bar for a couple of beers after work and then we went home to pick up our wives for dinner. We spent three hours laughing through a Fondue dinner. We shared two bottles of wine along with cheese, lobster, fillet mignon, chicken, shrimp, and eight varieties of dipping sauces. At the end of dinner we decided to have one last night cap at a new bar in town.

After being carded (as a courtesy, I think since we're all in our late thirties to fifties) we walked in to a loud, super sheik looking bar with lots of really young people and waitresses wearing go go boots. We surprised the bartender by paying cash and not opening a tab and then we proceeded to a dark corner to casually observe young law students in argyle sweaters on the prowl. More laughter.

We walked back to our cars, headed home, feeling tired but a little bit younger. My wife and I were in bed by 11pm on a Friday night. Whew Hoo!

So why the headache? I had drank a lot of water, paced myself by starting at 4pm, ate food with every drink, and yet I still felt awful. I decided to get up and take some Tylenol and get the coffee going. I brought in the newspaper and saw the morning headline about a 700 Billion bail out agreement in capital hill. It all made sense. It wasn't that I had gotten drunk, but I had consumed for too long. Too much of a good thing will tank you regardless.

Our economic melt down is the result of a long slow drink at the financial troff. It wasn't just a sudden recession, it was the slow greed associated with flipping houses, and trading pieces of paper as a diversion to the war that has no end in sight. We were so happy to see our stock market recover from 9/11 we didn't really notice the phony mechanisms the investment bankers were using to pull off the illusion of economic health.

So now we're left with a 700 billion dose of Tylenol for a national hangover. I don't think I'll be getting drunk again anytime soon, but I'm sure our credit industry will get the party rolling just as soon as it can. After all, isn't a little "hair of the dog" in order?