Since the great Depression of 1929, nothing this devastating has hit the U.S. economy.

In the last ten days, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped by 21%. By the end of today, it must have recorded its biggest drop in a week since it was created 112 years ago.

In real monetary terms, over $8.3 trillion has been lost this year. That is, $2 billion short of the U.S. national debt which stands at $10 trillion.

What makes this financial crisis unique is that so far it has defied all efforts by the Federal Reserve and the Treasury to force a reversal. In the last two weeks, two major mortgage giants in America, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were nationalized. The U.S. government bailed out the world largest insurance company, AIG. The American government banned short-selling in over 900 financial stocks and got approval for $700 billion the Treasury felt it needed to buy up bad mortgages and beef up banks’ capitals.

Despite early intervention, unlike in 1929 when it took 3 years before government intervened, the casualties of this financial crisis continue to mount. Investment banks like Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch have all been wiped out. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have all been transformed into commercial banks.

The root of this crisis began with subprime mortgage securities packaged and sold on global market. It has since spread to credit crunch. American house prices, on the average, are down 10% from their peak. As it stands today, banks are not lending to other banks due to fear of the health of b anks. As a result, small businesses are finding it hard to raise capital to pay workers, buy inventories and expand business. The same goes for consumers, even those with good credits are finding it hard to get loans to buy houses, cars, and basic needs. What started as Wall Street problem has become Main Street worry.

Unemployment rate in America is at 6.1%, a 5-year high. While it is far from the Depression era 25% unemployment rate, the panic is on. Customers are moving their money from mutual funds into cash based accounts. To reassure the country, President George W. Bush appeared at the Rose Gardens today to calm the market, “We know what the problems are. We know how to fix them.” In fact, as he spoke, the stock market lost 130 points.

Coming at the heel of record crude oil price increase that reached $145 a barrel at one point, sharp rise in commodity prices, and an all time high in food prices, the American consumer is being squeezed at all angles.

As the crisis unfolds, the fundamentals of the global free market as led and advocated by America are bound to change. A new wave of re-regulation will most definitely be put in place.

While nobody is sure of when or how this crisis will end, one thing is sure – Wall Street will never be the same.