Keep in mind, as much as we have touted capitalism, the very thing that drives it, which would be greed, is exactly what brought capitalism to its current state.

And with that the anger that is mounting in the US due to what is perceived as greed by the people attempting to correct the financial situation. (CEO pay that is out of line for services rendered)

Another note. The current solution to the problem is to get more credit available. Which is the root cause of our current situation. Many people spent well beyond their means and the bill came due.

My concern is that our government is attempting to hand out more credit to a country that is already over burdened with its current debt. So I personally believe that the solution is not a wise idea.

The being said, I have no other solution to offer. and I do not believe our leaders have anything else that they can offer.

Regardless of political affiliations, this is going to prove to be a very interesting decade.

As to your question about adjustment. I believe that is already happening. I see more and more people looking at what they truly consider to be of value, such as family, friends. And less of big TV or fancy car, etc etc. I think that our values may adjust to coincide with what is happening.

It may be short lived, but I think this will be one of many adjustments in the years to come. And the reason I say years.... If my research into our current fiscal mess is correct, that we have about 634 trillion dollars of credit default swaps and derivatives in the banking industry, then we are in much more trouble than the fed is telling us. and no one has the capability to turn that around.

Keep in mind, our financial system is essentially a "con" game. A confidence game. as long as the majority has confidence in it, it works well. But if they lose confidence in it, it fails miserably. And that, in my opinion, is exactly where we are at.

Again, it will be an interesting decade.

MM