Agreed- something else might have set him off if not the finances, [or who knows, maybe it was an issue with the missus, and not the finances at all] Still, it’s difficult not to suspect that he considered his financial problems the end of the world.

The sad thing is, there are solutions. So many people have managed to turn problems into positives- they have gone through hard times and just decided to write the experience off under “expensive education.” What I’m hoping will be the best part of the economic downturn is that people will discover that they don’t need the Hummer, HDTV, McMansion, etc. to be happy- but sometimes we have to have that stuff taken away from us to realize it.

It’s too bad he didn’t give it some time. Sometimes the fear of having a bad thing happen is worse than the bad thing itself.

I concur with Surak- may God bless and keep those boys.

His business was in subprime mortgage lending.

He most likely made a boatload of money.

With that money came expectations and promises for the future, for example, college fund for the kids, month long vacations in the carribbean, country club membership. When that money dried up, it meant a very drastic lifestyle change.

Very sad that he wasn’t able to face up to it

Very sad that he wasn’t able to save money for the downturn.

Very sad that he wasn’t able to face up to it with the help of his coworkers.

Very sad that he wasn’t able to face up to it with the help of his family or friends.

Very sad that he wasn’t able to face up to the fact that he might have to move into a modest small house or apartment and probably never hang out with his country club associates again.

Very sad that he thought the only way out was to kill himself and his wife, and to leave his two poor little children.

Very sad.

But it is too easy to blame the subprime problem for it.

Depression is a much larger problem than most of us know. Obviously, this man needed some professional help, and was capable of doing something irrational because of his depression, if pushed far enough.

It just so happens that the subprime problem/economy pushed him far enough. So then can these deaths be blamed on the subprime problem/ecomony? In reality, I don’t think so.

Although the subprime problem/economy appears to have been the “trigger” that put this man over the edge, what is apparent is that he had the (strong) capacity of being put over the edge in the first place. That is a problem that was all his own, and if the subprime problem had not come around may very well have been set off by some other “down” time later in life.

Yeah it’s fun seeing the “experts” with egg all over their face after their Goldilocks prognostications, but I think the reality is that none of us is going to come out of this unchanged or unscathed. That’s why I thought it was important to post this one- we need to put this in perspective.

Very tragic.. I wish I thought this would be the last, but we are in the first inning of a double header…

Ambac went to AA today and it only took a few hours for 450+ bonds to get a downgrade…

The next few months are going to get little crazy.