Mortgages isn't what caused the collapse in 2008.

Triple leveraged debt repackaged and resold as Mortgage backed securities. When the mortgages defaulted, the derivatives collapsed. Mortgages still had property associated with them, so it wasn't a total loss on all assets.

Student loan debt is a ballooning "guaranteed" income to Wall St, that has been supporting the market since 2008's rebound. The debt keeps growing (more people go to school), people pay it back, some of it gets canceled - but generally it's consistently growing.

Bernie wants to wipe out existing debt (wiping out promissory notes), as well as wiping out the even larger derivative market (and there's no house left to sell either), and more importantly - Bernie wants to discontinue the "guaranteed" increases of new student loans being generated.

This has been on the horizon since Bernie and Warren have surged in the polls. Staying in the market has been essentially playing a game of chicken for who is going to pull their money out first - and claim the peak of the bull market.

That on the horizon, Wall St has been tense and has been waiting for any event to trigger a sell off. Enter Wuhan Flu.

If you're healthy, and not elderly or very young, you'll probably survive it if you get it. There has been no measurable economic impact yet recorded for any of the companies on the NYSE.

The current sell off is all speculative of our current mix of conditions. I mean, why would you own stocks right now??