It's The Stupid, Economy

Paul Krugman, he that I adore, wrote a column about Americans spending less. One of the highlights of that article--

"...real spending on durable goods (stuff like cars and TVs) fell at an annual rate of 14 percent. To appreciate the significance of these numbers, you need to know that American consumers almost never cut spending... Also, these numbers are from the third quarter — the months of July, August, and September. So these data are basically telling us what happened before confidence collapsed after the fall of Lehman Brothers in mid-September, not to mention before the Dow plunged below 10,000. Nor do the data show the full effects of the sharp cutback in the availability of consumer credit, which is still under way."

¡Oh, Dios mío

I've often said that working retail can suck your soul, but I recently had an experience that makes me believe that the worst is yet to come. And this ominous feeling I have is, in a round-about way, being confirmed by what Mr. Krugman writes.

Let me 'splain--As we enter this holiday season, people are going to be more limited than ever with their funds. They, as I, will be trying to get the most bang for their buck. But here's the part that has a little more to do with geography. The store I work at has a somewhat difficult and demanding clientele. So, my fear is that their usual sense of entitlement will be magnified by the rough economy, and they will demand even more out of us poor retail slaves.

I'm thinking it's not out of the realm of possibility that some old crone will order me to get her a book, a latte, and rub her wrinkly claw feet while I'm at it.