This is not a Depression or a Recession

It's a re-adjustment to reality.

The Washington Post:

The economic shock has jolted many Americans into a new, more austere reality, which is likely to have lasting consequences for an economy fueled mostly by consumer spending. More than six in 10 Americans say they have cut down on borrowing and spending, the survey found.

The reason: Nearly half of the survey's respondents say they are in worse financial shape as a result of the downturn, which destroyed 20 percent of Americans' wealth.

My parents used to call buying on credit "the never-never system." The West has been living on the never-never system since the profligate Sixties. The economy will never "recover." The days of easy credit are over. We need to adjust.