While I Was in Class

The U.S. (and subsequently, much of the world) economy is tanking.

De-regulation has taken on new heights. Some are saying, "Vegas is more regulated than our investment banking industry in America."

I grew up in a small suburb outside New York City during the Bull and the Bear market years. Black Monday (the first time) happened one morning while I was in Mr. Cox's 8th grade history class. I clearly remember so much about that morning. I was wearing a white turtleneck from LL Bean, a black wool sweater from Benetton , jeans, a pair of LL Bean moccasins (or as we called them, 'Bluechers') and I was carrying my navy LL Bean back pack with the silver reflective ribbon across the front. We were all very privileged in that suburb. Many of my friends parents worked on Wall Street, and I remember noticing their long faces and feeling this sense of impending doom sweep the halls of our middle school that entire fall. I think it was hard for some of my friends to see their father or mother let-go from their positions at the banks. Still, their despair was saying no to their spring break in the Caymans or the ski trip to Vail. Their horror was relative.

Our economy bounced back then, and it will bounce back this time.

Still, I am curious to see if all this talk about teaching Americans a lesson about greed will really last. Is this crash going to transform our style of consumption? In my view, this is the same talk we heard in the late 80s, and as soon as the money started flowing back in, it was back to business as usual. Those kids, whose parents opted for second-hand turtlenecks over the LL Bean variety, were back to dressing their children in name-brands. Families were once again jetting off to Florida and Park Slope. A sort of economic amnesia settled over the community for years to come.

Money has a strange power over all of us. Some just want enough to pay the bills and others just want enough to buy two homes. But, is it really ever "enough?"