Newsweek: We're All Destined To Be Tightwads

Jillian Bandes | January 11, 2010 8:47 AM

Newsweek is claiming that a "new American psyche" will emerge after the current recession. This generation is destined to be more like our depression-era grandparents, using tea bags twice and never buying on credit, rather than our parents, who grew up in a time of plenty.

...the American consumer will no longer be the single dominant force in the world, even if the U.S. economy continues to recover. Rather, the key emerging markets (read: China, India, Brazil, and others) will continue to emerge and become more powerful; the dollar will continue to weaken; American labor will continue to face more and more competition from abroad; and, thanks to a new era of big government, reregulation, and (possibly) protectionism, money flows will stay tight. Throw in the probable rise in inflation and you've got an inevitably slower-growth future in which Americans will also have to come to grips with average unemployment levels that will likely stay much higher than they've been in decades.