Not the time when you want Phil Gramm’s puppet, Mr. Don’t Know Nuthin’ Bout No Economics, leading the charge.

The last time I got a bonus at the end of the year was 1998. The economy in the U.S. was slowing down, but if you were in the export business, you were growing like mad.

This time, the rest of the world is going down with us:

The global financial crisis deepened Monday as U.S. and overseas stock exchanges plummeted amid eroding confidence in the world’s banking system. Countries big and small struggled to contain a widening panic among both investors and depositors.

In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by more than 400 points within an hour of the opening bell…

It was just as bad in overseas trading, where European and Asian exchanges sunk sharply too. In Europe, many exchanges posted their worst days ever.
…
In a troubling sign that the entire globe is suffering financial contagion, big emerging economies that helped fuel global economic growth in recent years even as the U.S. economy slowed are now in turmoil themselves.

In Brazil, once the darling of global investors, trading on the Bovespa exchange in Sao Paulo was halted twice as panicky investors pulled out en masse. The Brazilian exchange fell 11 percent at opening, triggering so-called circuit breaker mechanisms that halt rapid declines. After reopening, the market fell another 15 percent and trading was halted again.

Mexico, another important developing nation and one integrated into the U.S. economy, also felt shockwaves Monday. Its stock market fell 9 percent after it opened, recovering to just under 7 percent by midday in volatile trading.

What sent Brazilian and Mexican stocks skidding was news out of Europe that bank failures and financial problems were widening. European stocks slid on news of similar declines on Asian exchanges.
…
What is unfolding around the world is a modern-day equivalent of a run on banks. Investors have almost no confidence in virtually anything but Treasury bonds and the U.S. dollar, which just a few months ago was embattled.

While things in my office are okay right now, looking down the road I don’t see much of a market for what we’re shipping overseas: a raw material used in producing big-ticket consumer goods. Especially if T-bills and the U.S. dollar continue to be the World’s mattress.

I’ve never been so happy that my husband is a public school teacher.

The one small light in all this darkness?

McCain’s course correction reflects a growing case of nerves within his high command as the electoral map has shifted significantly in Obama’s favor in the past two weeks.

“It’s a dangerous road, but we have no choice,” a top McCain strategist told the Daily News. “If we keep talking about the economic crisis, we’re going to lose.”

What do you think will be the main topic at tomorrow night’s debate?