It was a less than impressive on-camera performance. On morning television yesterday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson looked nervous, stumbled over his words, and used strong terms to describe the economic slowdown.

First, he wouldn't provide a direct answer to Matt Bauer's pointed question, "Are we in a recession?" Then, when asked if the government is more interested in Wall Street than Main Street, in reference to the weekend credit extension to Bear Stearns and other investment banks, Paulson dodged once again by saying he didn't believe the Bear Stearns shareholders felt they had been bailed out.

"The focus has got to be on orderly markets," he said, adding that he has faith in the capital markets and that the Federal Reserve will do what it needs to do.

He then outlined the positive steps that he felt would benefit Main Street -- that economic stimulus steps could add as many as 500,000 jobs this year and that tax rebate checks would start arriving in mailboxes on May 2, 2008.

He told CBS that the economy is in a "sharp decline."

If he's panicked, how should the rest of us feel?

That depends a lot on how much in debt you are and how secure your job is -- and your faith in a recovery.

Homebuyers and refinancing homeowners got an extra egg in their Easter baskets with mortgage interest rates dipping below 6 percent again. That's a miracle in light of recent inflation reports.

Sellers got an egg in their basket, too -- new construction on single-family homes dropped by 6.7 percent in February, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 707,000. The lowest building rate in 17 years means less competition on the market while it's still flooded with foreclosures.

Wall Street was already celebrating, despite the failure of Bear Stearns, the fifth largest investment firm, now valued at $2 a share to its new owner JP Morgan, from a high of $159. Shares shot up on the news that things weren't quite so bad at Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs. There was also great hope that the Federal Reserve would be aggressive about slicing short-term interest rates, which would improve borrowing rates for consumers.

And the Fed didn't disappoint -- it cut short-term rates for the third time this year. That will have a positive impact on those most in trouble -- homeowners with adjustable rate loans.

All these short-term fixes only do one thing -- encourage corporations and people to borrow more money. That's the very thing that got us into this fix in the first place.

That could be the real reason Paulson looks so worried. There aren't any fixes, at least not in the short term.

Published: March 19, 2008

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.