Economy & Election: Dangerous Choices

Lacy today on the state of the economy in Silicon Valley, a vacuum that hasn't really felt the impact yet. Sarah tells us how and where it is now feeling the crunch. She references angel and VC advice that says to companies "raise as much as they can, hoard cash, and find a quick and dirty revenue model."

I talk to technology start-ups all the time. Daily, I have conversations with clients, potential clients, former clients, friends of clients, friends of industry friends -- they're not in panic mode just yet but they are very concerned and some are not closing rounds they had hoped to by the end of the year.

There's a "time bomb" feeling in the air in northern California and I can only imagine it's happening elsewhere. I think it has more to do with the election than it does the economy. The outcome of the former dictates how well we come out of this economic crisis and while candidates seemed to focus on these issues for at least half of one debate, all McCain and Palin can do now to score points with "on the fence" Americans is preach fear, something the Republicans have always been good at. They're on the terrorist mantra now - I'm just waiting for a fabricated photo on the web.

Is that the best they can do? Do the Republicans not realize how dangerous this game is? People are angry. They're frustrated, they're fearful, they're confused and frankly, they're fed up. Anger can lead to rage. Rage can lead to things this country hasn't experienced since perhaps the Civil War, a modern version of it. We've moved into a new era and old government needs to hold on.