I remember it fondly: The Grasshopper. The Grasshopper was a radio control car. Not just the everyday RC car sold in the toy stores. This was a boy’s dream. Upgraded suspension, motor that allowed it to go at lightening speed and a remote control that had more buttons and dials than my other childhood love, airplanes. The problem was simple.

Are you one of those people who are having problems paying the mortgage? Is your home “under water” where you owe more than what your home is now worth? The next piece of the Obama Stimulus Plan announced today may provide you with some assistance. As with all legislation, it’s not light reading but let’s take a look at the important parts of the Homeowner Stability Initiative.

The Dow was down almost 4% today and 8.8% for in the last 5 trading sessions. Even more alarming, it’s less than one point away from breaking through the November low. The November low is the lowest that the stock market has been in 7 years. We are again at an alarming place in the economy. Why are we back where we were?