Hello world. From my veiwpoint I submit that the bad economy is contributiong to a generally better morality. There are more yard sales. More are using craigslist.org and ksl.com to sell their stuff. People are reducing , re-using, and recycling much more. Less people are buying new if they can buy the same product used, it's the same product. I think it's great. In my opinion the general american public was getting a little too cauky, things were just a little too easy, and wealth and money were just too important. This bad economy has forced us to all take a step back, reprioritize our lives, and make better decisions for ourselves and our families. The high gas prices forced people to stay at home more, getting to know their neighbors and communities, bonding with their families. Lay-offs have forced many to re-evaluate their careers, some going back to school, some taking their careers in a different path than they would have. More people are eating at home to save the money they used to use on eating out, spending more time with their families. Housewives are gaining more skills of cooking, doing so much more at home because yes it's cheaper. Lots of companies have gone out of business, but if you look at which ones, it's the stores that have extremely overpriced items in the first place, ripping people off. I think lots of people are gaining skills they wouldn't have otherwise learned if the economy wasn't as bad as it was. Also, because of all the lay-offs people are working harder at their jobs in fear of getting laid off. Maybe the fear isn't healthy but it is getting us somewhere. More folks are planting gardens, going camping instead of dropping hundreds on hotel rooms, and doing their own fix-it work instead of hiring someone else for the work. I forsee lots of good to come out of this not-so-good market. More people are saving their money more wisely, putting together larger emergency preparedness kits, more food storage, and taking better caere of what they do have instead of wearing out something just so they can replace it with new. Lots of folks are looking at their long term happiness rather than instant gratification. I submit marriages and families will come out improved. I know mine has.