When The Market Shifts from Value to Price

Once upon a time in America... consumers were so appreciative of the their new possessions they actually protected them from wear and tear. Who doesn't have at least one old aunt or grandmother who wrapped her new davenport (a.k.a. sofa) in plastic to preserve its life?

Welcome to the double-dip recession of 2010. Someday our children's children may look back at this time and recall how consumers were so pressed for cash and credit they actually... rode their bikes to work instead of their cars just to save on gas... clipped coupons before going to the grocery store... compared prices before buying... made sacrifices just to make their house payments... exercised to avoid doctor bills... robbed banks because the unemployment well finally ran dry.

For the record, I am rooting for a recovery in the economy, and I am pretty sure that a lot of other people are as well. Unfortunately, there appears to be a lot of writing on the wall resulting from a lack of leadership and a greed-centered business ethic that is global in proportion. I am very hopeful, though not entirely confident that the American will – the will of the people – can triumph as it has so many times in the past. Unfortunately those who are unaffected (the haves) don't seem to care, those who are most affected (the have nots) are almost entirely dependent on a bankrupt government, and those in the middle are struggling to survive.

This is not a pretty scenario, but not one without hope. What's the old American adage? When the going gets tough the tough get going. Well, I'm not sure what the plan is and I am not sure who I am following, but I am ready to get going.

At the end of the day, I'd rather sit on a plastic-covered couch than the space on the floor where the repossessed sofa used to be.