Actually, Ohio is one of the states hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis. One of the earliest, too, if not the earliest. It's not exactly a retirement or vacation home Nirvana.

Flipping condos affects the rich, and if they weren't smart enough to keep enough in reserve, I don't have a lot of sympathy. But there are thousands of low to middle income families that have been forced into homelessness in the last couple of years, and many more in extreme difficulty.

As for us personally, we'll be fine as long as there's an economy for us to participate in. If not, we're not entirely prepared, but I think there'd be enough time for us to take care of things, and we have land, available water and most of the skills we need. But to put it in perspective, DH's very safe investments, that usually track counter market, have taken a huge hit.

If in no other way, even people with an adequate income, a secure job and no investments are still taking a huge hit, because of the radical decline in funding for schools and other public facilities. School bus routes are being cut or eliminated, kids aren't getting up to date textbooks, roads and bridges aren't getting fixed. This is affecting everyone, and it's not going to be over soon.