Phrase used by Warren Buffett in 2009 when referring to the financial crisis in the United States.  Buffett used this phrase to symbolize just how bad the economic situation was in 2008-2009, as the banking sector was close to collapse.  The phrase can be interpreted to indicate that the economic problems would continue for a while, and be very difficult to recover from, although hopefully recovery will happen eventually with the continued help of the U.S. government.
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