Yikes! No one is jumping out of windows, yet, but the news about IndyMac is frightening.

Customers made a run on the bank last week and into Monday. They were trying to withdraw their funds out of "It's A Wonderful Life"-style fears that they may end up with nothing.

The feds have already closed and reopened IndyMac, and they're telling us that there's nothing to worry about unless you have more than $100,000 in the bank. The FDIC will cover up to that amount.

The run on IndyMac put the spotlight on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two institutions carry about 60 percent of the nation's mortgage debt - the majority of those loans are now questionable.

Who would think that something as liquid as cash in the bank would be at risk? This isn't like an investment in a shoe factory in the former Yugoslavia, or is it?

What's more, the feds are monitoring the health of about 100 banks, but IndyMac wasn't one of them.

New York Senator Charles Schumer is getting blamed for the run on IndyMac after he publicly questioned its solvency. The point of speaking with hypersensitivity to avoid raising fears is well taken, but what if no one is speaking up precisely when they need to? Do we all just think positive thoughts?

In the age of anything-goes deregulation of just about everything, Americans are being asked to trust in government at a time when government appears less and less competent.

When asked if Americans should be concerned about the nation's banking system and the general health of the US economy, Jeremy Siegel, professor of finance at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, told CNN yesterday that there's good reason for concern: rising oil prices, a weak dollar, and still no end in sight to the housing crisis.

"Things are getting very anxious," he said.

Fortunately, he said, relatively few Americans have more than $100,000 in cash sitting in the bank these days. If that's any consolation.

Just cover your eyes folks, and hope for the best.