I can't help but find amuzing how just terribly paranoid Americans either are or seem to be (mind you, all I know is what I see on the news, so understand that however you want to) completly in panic about this whole economic meltdown things.
Living in a until yesterday underdeveloped country who was one of the most risky places to invest in the world. But you know what? We kept living, and now we are actually doing ok. So, don't worry too much about crisis, they come and go. Now, if everything is going to be ok soon, why worry so much? And if everything is going down the toilet, why worry so much?
Anyway, I'm a big Dave Ramsey listener, and I think all the worried people down there should pay attention to him. I think debt is not only the cause of all of United States, Europe, Japan and the rest of so called Developed world, but also, the cause of worry and despair at a personal level.
As a last statement, do try to do like brazilians: grow (or not...) DESPITE whatever the shaqfu the men in power are doing, not BECAUSE of them.