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At the end of 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 13264.82. At Noon today, October 24, it stands at 8327.27. That's nearly a 40% decline. Translated on Main Street, if your portfolio was worth $250,000 in 2007, it's now valued at about $150,000. And if you are retired or nearing retirement, you are in trouble.

You know the back story well. Greed, corruption and errors in judgment plus federal regulations that were poorly constructed plus a lack of federal oversight can be blamed. Lenders who lent irresponsibly; bankers, financial institutions and mortgage companies who bought and sold paper, knowing it contained toxic loans but also an opportunity to make a killing. CEO's who took on average 250 times in salary and bonuses what the average American makes, knowing company valuation was likely over-rated and stocks over-valued.

We deserve some of the blame, as well. Those of us who jumped at sub-prime loans, whether or not we understood them. Lenders who pushed those loans during a housing bubble to unsuspecting consumers who either didn't understand bubbles (they eventually burst) or didn't care because for the first time they could in the short-term afford a mortgage or they were greedy, thinking they could buy cheap and then quickly flip the house. Ignoring the increasing power of government based partly on corporate monies, with an open door to lobbyists representing the rich and powerful, while not being so open to social justice groups and other non-profits. And of course, the majority of us who carry heavy debt in mortgage and approved credit spending, while our Government does the same by spending and spending and spending money that they and we don't have.

The Result: We Americans have been living beyond our means, and now we must pay.

Now throw in more greed, a lack of values and ethics and perhaps crime, and we are in deep crap. For example, on September 15 of this year, AP reported that mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are facing a federal grand jury investigation into their accounting practices. Both received a federal grand jury subpoena from the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York and an order from the Securities and Exchange Commission to preserve documents for an investigation. Then on October 6, in the first Congressional hearing into the financial crisis, Richard Fuld, the former CEO of the bankrupt Lehman Brothers, defended the $484 million he received in salary, bonuses and stock options since 2000.

Have you heard any apologies like Jet Blue's CEO offered when airline passengers sat three hours on the tarmac with no explanation. (By the way, he was fired shortly after issuing that apology. What message did that send?) Greenspan offered a limited mea culpa yesterday for arguing against increased banking oversight, just before he said he was still in shock and didn't understand what happened. Surely, he's heard of greed and short-term profit taking.

It won't fix the immediate problem, but we need to step up and admit that we have played fast and loose with our money, from the government to the lowest wage earner, most of us have squandered most of what we brought in and more. Instead of living within our means, we bought and bought and bought. We need to look in the mirror and scream ENOUGH! And some of us owe the rest of us an apology.