Stocks Tumble on Mortgage, Credit Worries; Dow Drops More Than 250 Points

I think we need to worry. History is clear on what happens to all stock markets booms: they always end with a crash. This is no different. In fact, many of conditions that exist today were present in 1929--and even worse. For example, the gap between rich and poor today is the greatest since the 20s. In fact, we did not have the kind of monstrous debt we have today. Recent record rises in the stock market had no justification given the uncertainty worldwide and skyrocketing oil prices. If made no sense. The stock market is growing because of a handful of greedy speculators. It has nothing to do with fundamental strength in the economy. We are a society literally falling apart. So a stock market collapse would only be a symptom of that morass:

U.S. stocks slid sharply Friday after Bear Stearns said credit markets were in their worst shape in two decades, while jobs data aroused further concerns about weakness in the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 281.42 points, or 2.09 percent, to 13,181.91, with every one of its 30 components ending the day in the red.

[...]Wall Street has been dogged by concerns that deteriorating lending conditions could hurt the economy and a rash of disappointing economic data, including weaker-than-expected jobs growth and slower service sector growth, added to already frayed nerves.

This might get your attention. Don't say your weren't warned:

On Friday, Bear Stearns Chief Financial Officer Sam Molinaro said bond market turmoil sending investors fleeing from risk may be a worse predicament than the 1987 stock market crash and the bursting of the Internet bubble in 2000.

[...]At its session low, the stock of Bear Stearns suffered its biggest percentage drop since Sept. 17, 2001, the first day of trading after the attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center's twin towers in New York.