Tightening the belt

According to the New York Times, the age of easy credit may be passing:

With the number of jobs shrinking, housing prices falling and debt levels swelling, the same nation that pioneered the no-money-down mortgage suddenly confronts an unfamiliar imperative: more Americans must live within their means.

Increased saving should be good news: Americans are finally being responsible. But our economy is so consumer driven -- GDP is 70% consumer spending -- that this cutback could easily cause or deepen a recession. We'll be better off in the long run, but saving more will cost jobs in the present -- an ironic result made possible by our dependence on frivolous spending for our longterm prosperity.