No more cookies, cakes, doughnuts, and etc,,, I'm afraid that it has reached a time in history when America can't have everything that we want. As the price of gasoline continues to go up, we are seeing an unpredictable rise in prices on every item in the store. Walking through the aisles, I am experiencing first hand just a small sample of what the consumers felt when the stock market crashed in 1929. Almost eighty years ago, the public was suddenly plunged into dispair when the stock market crashed and the country became poverty stricken overnight.

I am seeing subtle changes taking place as I travel the streets of my city. Stores are doing things differently to entice the cautious buyers to come in and look for a deal. At the same time, some stores are cutting back on the amounts that they are offering to their customers. One fast food chain is advertising that if I will buy a large fountain drink, I can rent a movie from the red box for free. Of course they plan on me purchasing more than just a drink for this bargain. The pizza place caught my attention when they posted signs on the side of the road advertising that one night was bargain night for the kids and the next night was bargain night for seniors. In an "eat, drink and be merry society" it is hard to break old habits while the establishments entice us with meal deals. A department store had "12 hour sale" signs posted within a one mile radius of their store on Saturday morning to lure customers into their establishment and spend a little money on their great bargains. My favorite candy store disappointed me today when I purchased my usual bag of chocolate covered popcorn. It was no longer in a bag, but a small tray of popcorn with some chocolate on it. The price was near the same as always, but the content was cut more than half.

Today was the first time ever seeing an "eviction" garage sale. What new things will this generation experience during this economic slump? We are a country that is not used to being deprived of the things we need or even the unneccessary things we want. We have been accustomed to a purchasing power that certainly surpassed anything that our previous generations could even imagine. But, our accumulations have not been enough. There are so many things that we have planned on buying for our self gratification.

Many of us are still in self denial that the economy could worsen. The realities around us are surely temporary financial setbacks. I read the different articles telling us how to cut back and learn to stretch our dollars to the max. I can certainly appreciate trying to cut back on unnecessary purchases. But, how long must we ride this economical wild ride that is just beginning to hit America? Are we able to withstand a recession, a depression or a financial collapse that could plague our great country?

None of us can predict the future. However, we can certainly look around and see our waning prosperity. The politicians can't stop the impending disaster that we are facing. Their solutions to the economic problems that are plaguing us can only plunge us deeper into despair.