What did they say?

I read with much interest the series of articles in the Sunday Opinion page of November 30,2008. We as a nation are facing unprecedented economic difficulties. As many of us try to analyze these problems , I believe we share a common dilemma. None of us have any idea what the experts are saying to us and what it all means.

I have been advised at various moments in recent weeks that we face the possibility of inflation, stagflation or deflation. Depending on the time of day and whether Jupiter is aligned with Mars, it appears that a particular solution is the answer de jour. We seem to have given away billions of dollars with no understanding and no oversight. We are putting so many fingers in the dike at the same time that we are now using our toes to stop the flow. We are twisting ourselves into knots, and we have no concrete knowledge as to whether this is doing any real good.

Mr. Boskin, Mr. Leuchtenburg, Mr. Stiglitz, Mr. Hornats, Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Lindsey are all undoubtedly brilliant economists with keen insight. However, they must understand that we are all dumber than fifth graders. While they may be talking, all we are hearing is the sound of a sinking economy. Until we feel that we are given the ABC's of where we stand, what we are doing, and the reality of what it truly means, we will all continue to feel that what we are being told is just sound and fury signifying nothing.