You want to know how bad it can really get just take a look at your 401k results for last year.  Heck I’ve even lost a little so far this year.  This new stimulus package is supposed to be helping the economy by jump starting employment and stabilizing the credit markets  all in an attempt to prevent another huge stock market crash like we had during the great depression.  If you have watched any financial news or read any information on the Stock Market News you might hear predictions that our economy is headed towards the worst disaster ever.  Our increasing national debt, lopsided trade deficit and lack of any significant amount of manufacturing capabilities is crippling our economy.  The doom and gloom over the stock market is just 1 of many concerns Americans should be worrying about.  The only thing that pulled us out of the last stock market crash was World War II.  If we hit an unemployment rate like we did during the first stock market crash I’m afraid even if there was a war to stimulate the economy we wont have the manufacturing capabilities that allowed us to recover from the last national financial disaster.  I hope some of those in Congress and the Senate start looking harder at what we can do to save and improve upon our manufacturing base.  I’d hate to think we would have to rely on Korea, China, Japan or some third world country to produce our military needs.  So while the stock market short comings over the last year have had a huge toll on your 401k, I’m afraid that much worse things than your stock portfolio are likely to come in the next few years.