Some are saying that the world economy, particularly the American econonmy, is built on a house of cards much like it was in the 20's of the last century. I heard the other day on Market Place, a business related program on NPR, that many believe that the current downturn will be the worst since the 30's. Some have even said that this downturn will be as bad or worse than the Great Depression. The Great Depression, depending on which source you use, lasted from 1929 to 1941. That's roughly a dozen years. Hope you've got a really really good survival kit.