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We've been getting so many questions about the collapse of Washington Mutual and the rumored instability of Wachovia. And amid all the political theater about bailouts, the Federal Reserve went and pumped $290 billion into the markets to keep them functioning.

Meanwhile, businesses are having trouble getting money. For example, junk bonds -- which are issued when companies of questionable finances need to borrow -- are right at a 15% average. Several months ago, they were firmly in the single digits. That 15% figure signals that the marketplace has gone into a "panic." However, Clark has to qualify that term "panic." This "panic" only has stricken those who do this kind of thing for a living. Clark wants to emphasize that there's no reason for the average person to panic.

The failure of WaMu -- the 6th largest bank in the United States -- has been the largest in our nation's history. So how much money will people lose in insured deposits? Not a cent -- so long as you don't have more than $90,000 on deposit. Use CDARS.com if you are a Daddy Warbucks with money to insure above traditional FDIC limits.

The only "gotcha" here pertains to CDs. The acquiring bank (JP Morgan Chase, in the case of WaMu) must decide whether to honor the existing interest rate or reduce it. However, if you have a mortgage or other loan through WaMu, the rate can't be changed by JP Morgan Chase. Just be sure you have your monthly statements to prove your payoff amount.

Today is being billed as another "special edition" of The Clark Howard Show. Clark realizes this term is overused, but he hopes his listeners notice his general tone of lightness on the topic.

We are not toast, as the media might have you believe.

Clark was at the YMCA working out this morning. A woman came up to him and said, "You said everything is going to OK -- and now it's not!" But the reality is that everything will be OK in the long run.

Having said that, Clark wants to clarify his previous statements about the current state of financial difficulties lasting for 7-12 years. This does not mean that the "mess-a-day" pace will continue all decade long. What it means is that the reckless borrowing of the last 6 years -- both on government and individual levels -- will be a drag on the economy that may last a decade.

This drag on the economy does not mean doom and gloom or even a recession (though Clark believes we're already in one!). But don't expect to see Hoovervilles or apple-selling carts on the street anytime soon. It's not going to happen.

This is a time when average people who normally don't focus on Wall Street minutiae have a lot of questions and that's understandable. Clark could bore you all day with talk of CDOs and SIVs -- just a few of the investment schemes that helped bring about the breakdown in trust between financial institutions and the freeze in credit markets.

One thing is clear: This is a "made in America" mess that we're going to have to clean up. It won't be easy, but it won't be all gloom and doom. Now we have to take on debt to deal with the foolish debt that the wealthy took on with their high-stakes gambles that failed. This is a problem with many layers and the solution won't be as simple as flicking on a light switch.

In the aftermath of 9/11, we were told it was our patriotic duty to buy cars with 5-year loans that we didn't need, and to buy on credit in the stores. But Clark wants to hear the president say that we're living on borrowed money and we have to stop -- beginning in Washington D.C., corporate America and our households across America.

We need to get back to basics.

The financial turmoil has led to a lack of trust between financial organizations and freezing up of the credit markets. As with most things in life, the best way to appreciate the current situation is through the lens of history.

In the 1800s, there was no central money system. Banks printed their own money from state to state and people had to decide if they trusted money from a given bank.

Well, that's where Wall Street is today. Banks don't trust the IOUs they hold from other banks. In all the layers of the commercial paper market, nobody trusts anybody else's paper. This is a key part of the freezing up of the credit market that Bush keeps talking about.