The Truth...

...will set you free. That, I believe is what the recent dismal financial numbers are all about. Today, the unemployment figures revealed a record jump in joblessness. It's awful but finally, everybody - companies, so-called financial experts, talking heads, politicians - has stopped lying, fudging numbers, kicking the ball down the road for someone else to pick up. Now watch as more of the ugly truth comes out. The markets will respond - positively or negatively, I don't know - but finally, we are all being told the truth about just how bad things are in the economy. And we will find a way to cope, to deal with it, and to roll up our sleeves and do whatever it takes to keep a roof over our heads and our children fed and clothed. In order to do so, though, we need to keep being told the truth. It's a hard thing to do, this truth-telling thing, and requires more courage than I fear some administration officials possess, but it is the absolutely non-negotiable first step to recovery.