Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: On Firm Footing A Year After Lehman's Fall (Final)

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- "The system has been saved, and we're a lot better off now than we were a year ago," Jim Cramer told the viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show on the one year anniversary of the fall of Lehman Brothers.

Cramer said that we are well on our way to a full-blown economic recovery, despite what the headlines may say.

Cramer said in his new upcoming book, Getting Back To Even, he's added a new rule for investors that reads: just because someone has a Nobel prize, it doesn't mean they know about the economy. Cramer said this rule is vital in an era where everyone seems to have an opinion about the markets, while few have any real world experience.

Cramer said while many in the media talk of financial reforms falling by the way side, the reality is the financial system has been fixed. He said that much of the risky trading of the past has vaporized, and bankers now fear for their lives if they make a risky trade.

In other areas of the economy, Cramer said we're much better off than anyone could've hoped for just a year ago, with banks now opting for forbearance rather than foreclosure and the housing and credit markets beginning to thaw, helped by low interest rates. In autos, the Cash For Clunkers program has reduced inventories and spurred a recover in the auto industry.

Cramer said the evidence is all around us, in shipping, technology and even retail, that the recovery is here. Even the beleaguered aerospace industry could return as Boeing's (BA) embattled Dreamliner could begin flying by year end.

The people who write the headlines may not see it, said Cramer, but that doesn't mean it's not there.