much like MSNBC has done for the Obama-ites - CNN has come up with a new middle of the day program:  Issue # 1.  This dandy hour of reportage is meant to help Americans deal with the current economic crunch (although for me personally, the Iraq war is still Issue # 1).  On Wednesday Ryan Mack - President and Founder of Optimum Capital Management- and Stephanie Auwerter -  editor of SmartMoney.com - answered questions viewers had asked via e-mail.  Boy, what fact filled five minutes of astute advice that was.

Mr. Mack seemed amiable and knowledgeable enough in answering the question put to him by a viewer whose mortgage company had gone bankrupt, although it seemed to me that he wrote an essay when the test was actually short answer:  "Make your mortgage payment, sir."  Ms. Auwerter, however, was stunning in her lack of knowledge and insight.  Her serious lack of both a correct answer and an understanding of the problems being faced by the middle class was all the more dismaying when one considers that people may very well act on the information she imparted.

A recent arrival to America's shores asked how he might import his good credit standing from his home country to the United States.  Gerri Willis, one of the show's hosts, expanded the question to include all of those people who have yet to establish a credit history.  Ms. Auwerter did have a short answer handy, "Start taking on credit."  If that didn't make her stand clear enough she suggested taking out a secured loan or becoming an authorized user on a credit card.  I am against credit in most of its insidious forms so I will stay away from the debate about whether or not one actually needs to start life in a new country or a new life after college by piling up debt.  I will, however, take issue with the idea of becoming an authorized user on someone else's card. 

In recent years some people with no credit or less than stellar credit have "improved" their credit ratings with the authorized user approach; it has even spawned a just this short of illegal industry of companies that pair people with excellent credit with those who have impaired credit.  For a fee the "excellents" take the "impaireds" on as their authorized users.  It took awhile but, hey, credit card companies and credit agencies caught on to this ploy.  Soon accounts opened as authorized users will not work to improve the score of the lesser creditworthy card holder.

Having imparted the audience with the "smart money" answer to piggyback on someone else's good credit, Ms. Auwerter and Ms. Willis felt it necessary to point out that most college students have credit card offers stuffed into their dorm mailboxes every day.  The editor of SmartMoney.com laughed as she said, "Lord knows credit card companies are happy to give a college student..."  Her statement tailed off as Ms. Willis chortled her agreement.  Hey, college loan paybacks got you down?  Don't have a job yet in the current tight job market?  Why don't you take this high interest credit card and head to the mall; not to worry, you're "building credit."

After imparting her wisdom to recent immigrants and college grads, Ms. Auwerter then took on senior citizens.  I didn't even really listen for the advice part of her answer because I was so struck by her assertion that, "Hopefully when you are a senior citizen you have as much as two years living expenses in cash so you don't have to cash out investments."  Since savings are at an all time low, most people have far too little in their 401k accounts to support them in retirement, many seniors depend entirely on Social Security and the home equities they counted on are falling faster than pennies off the Empire State Building I am sure Ms. Auwerter is absolutely correct.  Thanks again, Ms. Auwerter for your educated appraisal of the state of the retirement economy.

It must have been my financial punditry lucky day because I stumbled across one more golden nugget of "have you even been listening" absurdity on CNBC.  Maria Bartiromo had as one of her guests the oh so condescending Fred Glick, CEO and President of US Loans Mortgage.  Mr. Glick was quite pleased with himself at having - as far as he, I and Ms. Bartiromo know - coined the phrase "mumbo jumbo" in reference to the new higher loans that can be temporarily provided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  I must admit, annoying as Mr. Glick was, the phrase did give me a chuckle.  He couldn't stop there though, Mr. Glick just had to continue his diatribe against the loan limits:  "The interest rate is about one point to one and an eighth higher on a daily basis than the conforming loan at 417, so who's it helping?  People are looking at that and saying 'I thought I was supposed to get help here.  Thought I could do a cash out re-fi and take some money and spend it into the economy to help it.' "  Try as I might, I could not catch even the faintest glimmer of irony in Mr. Glick's voice.

So that was the idea?  Raise the conforming loan limit so that people could get $700,000 loans (and, yes, I live in California, I know $700,000 doesn't buy a mansion in Los Angeles; in San Francisco it doesn't even buy half a mansion), do a cash out re-fi and hit the mall?  Damn, what with the new immigrants, the college students and the cash out folks, the mall is going to be a pretty busy place but that is the way we Americans respond to every crisis these days isn't it?  Terrorism?  Go to the mall.  Sub-prime crisis? Go to the mall.  There seems to be no problem so big that we can't consume our way out of it. 

Mr. Glick did partially redeem himself when totally out of character and out of nowhere, he closed his portion of the interview by leaving us with this statement of truth: "...but Congress has to realize that if you do an FHA loan and it goes into default it's the U. S. government that stands behind it not somebody you sold paper to way overseas, so that might be a bigger crisis."  Righto, Fred, it would take a helluva a lot of spending to consume our way out of that.