There's more to life and death than the AIG bonuses. They're a stark symbol of our increasingly desperate situation, but the media overkill is ludicrous.

Just look at the above chart from the Pew people about last week's financial-news coverage. (See the Pew story: "One Story Dominates: AIG in the Crosshairs").

OK, so the topic of bonuses has legs as high entertainment value, compared with other, grimmer, and more difficult parts of the news to handle.

No quibble in one sense: The bonuses are a topic that we should return to, again and again (I know I will). And just because they're symbols doesn't make them unimportant. Outrage over them may eventually force the government to really do something in the long run about them and the various other dangers — even to capitalism itself — that lurk in corporate boardrooms inhabited by the masters of the universe. (See "Wall Street fell through rotten boards — a reminder from Nell Minow.")

Meanwhile, though, much of the Wall Street shit is flowing like a coastal California mudslide. So, lost among all the hubbub about the bonuses are these recent items about the damage already done or about to happen. Warning: These stories (with excerpts attached in some cases) are not about the AIG bonuses:

• "$410,000 in 2006, $112,000 now: When will prices hit bottom?"
That's the question real estate professionals in South Florida are asking as they see a surge in sales amid the lowest prices in years. Said one agent, "I am standing on the bottom."

• "Chinese find opportunity in slumping U.S. real estate prices"
Wealthy Chinese are signing up for house-buying tours to the United States, and Chinese media tout the trend as another sign of the strength of the world's third-largest economy. "The real estate prices in America have gone down drastically," said a lawyer who recently returned from an 11-day U.S. tour. "It's a good option for Chinese people who want to buy for investment."

• "Stimulus? U.S. to buy Chinese condoms, ending Alabama jobs"

• "Budget Woes Hit Mass Transit as Tax Revenue Falls"
Just as mass-transit ridership has reached a historic high, tax revenues that fund rail and bus service have dropped, leaving transit agencies nationwide with huge budget deficits and the prospect of boosting fares.

• "The RV's last roundup"
Big-name brands are dying and even Winnebago is under the weather. Can the recreational vehicle survive the recession?

• "New York Transit Agency Approves 25% Bus, Subway Fare Increase"

• "One more earmark story: This one's about HUD funds for pig dung"

• "Web searches for 'luxury' drop, rise for 'coupons'"

• "E.U. President Calls U.S. Stimulus the 'Way to Hell'"

• "Call for Help: Postal Chief Says Agency Crashing"

• "Debating a Ceiling On Credit Card Fees: Bankruptcy Bill Would Shield People From Firms' Punitive Interest Rates"

• "Foreign Firms May Cash In on Stimulus Dollars: Some Have Expertise U.S. Companies Lack"

There are many more stories than just the bonuses — although you might not know that given Congress's quick action on clawing back the bonus bucks, compared with its slow reaction to bigger problems directly affecting more people.

Oh, I almost forgot this story:

• "Report: Alzheimer's costs could be more damaging than recession"