Tad Gage

Great Depression? Nah, Great Reality Check

I'm certainly not feeling pie-in-the-sky optimistic by any means, but I continue to meet and work with many business people who are not going to give up because the "markets" are volatile or reflect the greed and poor decision making of a small number of individuals and corporations. However, the points above are well-made -- the real difference will be if Americans come to their senses and once again exercise discipline in their lifestyles. When I was a kid, if a family only had the cash for one television, that's all you had in the house. You didn't borrow for a second or third. And only "rich" people drove expensive foreign and US cars because people stayed within their means on financing. And therein lies my hope that things are rough enough for enough people that we might re-learn some more positive values. After all, we've enjoyed this incredible materially high level of lifestyle, and frankly, people seem angrier, more stressed out, less relaxed and more miserable than ever in my lifetime. Obviously, the illusion of a luxurious lifestyle doesn't equate to real satifaction with life.