nvoluntary Thrift By Michael J. Panzner

February 05, 2008

Many factors have contributed to the mess our economy is in right now. One has been the popular fantasy, encouraged by retailers, financial institutions and the mass media, that there is no reason why every American can't have it all, right now -- regardless of whether there is any basis for that assertion.

Now, though, attitudes are changing. The current downturn is forcing many of those who might once have blindly accepted the tenets of the cult of consumerism to have a serious rethink. In "Economy Fitful, Americans Start to Pay as They Go," the New York Times suggests the new, more prudent perspectives are also spawning what could be a far-reaching change in spending patterns.

http://www.financialarmageddon.com/2008/02/involuntary-thr.html