If Jim Jubak says it’s going to get worse …

Not just worse than now but worse than he previously predicted, then I’m really worried about the next year or two economically:

I was wrong. I no longer think we're facing a garden-variety recession. At a minimum, it will last longer than the two quarters I projected on Sept. 30. Economists are now talking about a recession that will last three, four or even five quarters.

From what else he describes, I think we’re talking about a multiple-trough, multiple-impact recession like the Carter-Reagan one of 1980-82.

Jubak thinks that, among other things, all the liquidity being pumped into the economy right now is going to sink some inflationary teeth in our butt in the future.

So, the Fed going a poor job of getting that money back out of the system could produce a second dip. Remember the inflation that Paul Volcker had to bat down?

And, the bailout itself could cause problems:

If the government's purchase of busted assets forces banks and other financial institutions to mark down their portfolios too much, those companies could suddenly find themselves short of capital when an inability to raise capital in the financial markets has led to the failures and takeovers in this crisis.

And, if you expect Paulson and Bernanke to handle that smoothly, I’ve got a new development on the Anacostia River to sell you.

Read the whole article; on page 2, Jubak takes a page from Warren Buffett with some investment advice.