Watching the financial markets of the United States melt down is like how I’d imagine it’d be like to watch the Hindenberg sinking into the ground, a slow and gradual collapse of something very very large. Of course, this could have been foreseen for those who think outside the box, and this Warren Buffet analysis is more than a little enlightening.

I still remember 5 years ago arguing vehemently with an American friend (now studying a PhD in Economics at Standord) about why the exorbitant pay for CEO’s is just another way for the powerful to rape as many peasants as he can. He, of course, believed the pay rises of CEO’s were totally justified from an efficient market point of view. Oh Stanley O’Neal, formerly of Merril Lynch, you totally deserve your $161 000 000 golden parachute.

And for those who think it’s just restricted to the housing market, think again. A little point mentioned in this article is that the Dow Jones should always be indexed to inflation, except the Consumer Price Index is not a reliable measure because it’s meaning has actually been changed over the years. It’s better to compare the Dow Jones against perennial commodities. Like gold, or silver.

Still, I’ve been trying to spread gloom-and-doom amongst my friends about the shitty times ahead: buy canned foods, starting hoarding old clothes, prepared to get fired. However, I recently found a list that throws a little bit of a silver lining for us here academic wannabes. Someone did some research on the last Great Depression, and found the list fastest growing jobs during the period 1929-1933. College professors were up 33%, I can breathe a slight sigh of relief.

However, the fastest growing jobs during the depression was: Persons engaged in liquor stores: 335 %. Given that this was probably due to the ending of prohibition. For a modern parallel, alcohol prohibition corresponds to marijuana prohibition. So if you’re paying attention: get ready to sell some weed.