Isn't this a fine mess we have gotten ourselves into? Let's blame somebody.

The closest I've seen to what I believe are some comments from Jack and Suzy Welch, Jack of GE fame, in the Oct. 6 Business Week. They say: "The list of culprits is long indeed." First on their list is Congress for overzealously pushing homeownership. They blame the Fed for keeping interest rates low so predatory lenders could take advantage of people.

Home buyers for using poor judgment and getting in over their heads. The White House for letting bank regulations become too loose. Finance executives for selling products they didn't understand. The rating agencies for mischaracterizing the paper. Hedge funds for betting on doomsday.

I think the Welches are probably right on each count. Personally, I just love Congress blaming everyone else, don't you? Funny huh?

One last parting shot. It disturbs me to see some people characterize this bailout as throwing $700 billion away. We will be buying assets that are discounted. Hopefully, those assets will become liquid and more valuable one of these days and maybe, maybe, we will even make a profit.

My point is when someone says to you the money is just gone, go get another beverage.

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Does it seem to you that the stock markets are going down more often? Any statistics I use are according to Capital Research and Management.

Since 1900 declines in the Dow Jones Industrial Average happen quite often. What we are going through right now is not unusual. Declines of five percent or more are routine and have happened an average of about three times a year.

Ten percent declines happen about once a year, and 15 percent declines happen about once every two years.

How about this little baby we have been going through? Bear markets, declines of more than 20 percent, happen about every 3½ years and average about 11 months in length.

Guess what? This market began declining around October of last year. You and I should be hoping this is about to run its length.

I like it when the blood is running in the streets, and I think I notice a little pinkness. It is not that I like the pain, I am an investor also. But when that happens, sometimes it signals a prelude to a turn. I have no idea if we are there, but I wouldn't doubt it.

Hopefully, as we enter a period of "seasonal strength" we will do OK. Seasonal strength usually shows up in fall and winter, so maybe it's time.

As I've said in the past, if you have some stocks, some bonds and some cash, it is probable that you make it through downturns.

Some of the financial institutions involved in all this subprime stuff deserve their problems. In many instances they took risks that they might not have understood.

Despite what you hear and read, most of these firms are made up of honest, well-meaning people. As my high school principal used to say, "and then there is the 10 percent."

Poor leadership combined with some greed and poor judgment has a tendency to soil the other 90 percent. It is a shame, but it happens in any business.

OK, what's going on? I hate to say anything, because as I write this on Thursday, by the time you read this, all the numbers could change.

As you know, the volatility has been incredible. I'll take a quick look at where we are after three quarters. It is not pretty.

Any statistics I use are measured from Jan. 1 through Sept. 30 unless otherwise indicated.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down more than 18 percent year-to-date and down almost 23 percent over the past year. The S&P 500 is down almost 21 percent YTD and down almost 25 percent over the last year. The NASDAQ Composite is off 21.5 percent YTD.

The index I really look at these days is the Wilshire 5000, which measures most stocks traded, and it is down slightly under 20 percent YTD and down slightly under 24 percent over the past 12 months.

In the foreign markets, the EAFE Index is off more than 31 percent YTD.

So what does all this mean? If you have the majority of your money in the domestic markets and some in the foreign markets, you could easily be down 22 percent or 23 percent. That would not be unusual for someone who is aggressively invested. If you had some bonds and some cash, then it is likely you would be down a good bit less.

The next six months are going to be interesting.

By the way, I have a little cocktail party fodder for you. What is this subprime stuff? Here it is.

Generally speaking, a subprime loan is a loan made to a borrower who has credit problems, income or assets that are hard to document perhaps, or someone who is just going to have a hard time repaying a loan. They might be OK, but maybe not. They normally get charged higher interest rates to compensate investors for the higher risk.

For financial questions, you can e-mail me at Howie.Pentony@UVESTFINANCIAL.com. Or you can check me out at www.NexTierWealth.com.

Howie Pentony is a Butler financial adviser with UVEST Financial Services, member FINRA/SIPC.