The past few days have been particularly unsettling for me. I had J.G. Banks of probate infomercial fame at my house for a couple of days last week. Jim and I have been friends for going on 20 years. We caught up on old times and then got into the financial mess. After sitting up late one night discussing the mess, it was like telling ghost stories. Neither one of us slept well.

The news certainly doesn’t tell you the full truth, or maybe not even any part of it. The feds don’t say it. The bankers and Wall Street crooks aren’t admitting it. So, you have to read between the lines. The subprime mortgages are just the tip of the iceberg. There are ten times that many default credit swaps, derivatives, and other junk out there that the greedy financial gurus have thought up and sold to line their pockets. That stuff hasn’t hit the fan yet. When it does, the subprime mortgage stuff will smell like a breath of fresh air compared to how bad all this other stuff will smell.

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As I watch the presidential debates, I am in a panic. It appears that taxes are going up any way you slice it. McCain made the statement that the only president to ever raise taxes when the economy was in trouble was Herbert Hoover. McCain didn’t finish the thought with the next statement which should have been “and the tax increase was what lead to the GREAT depression.” Are the politicians really stupid enough to do it again – increase taxes when the economy is in a downward spiral? It appears so.

If taxes are going up on the small businesses and reasonably successful people in our society, what can you do? I am going to assume you are a small business person that will get hit. You may not be living flush, because every dime goes back into the business, but as far as the new tax laws are concerned, you will be the target. “You make too much money.” It doesn’t matter that you are growing your business with it and hiring more people. I understand that you’re not irresponsible enough to go out and buy a house you can’t afford or buy big toys. You need your money to do business. Even though you need the money to make your business survive, the new regime is going to take it away from you. How can you protect yourself and your hard earned money?

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