Mea Culpa?

I have heard nervous news anchors and economists cite  cuts in consumerism as a possible downfall for the worldwide economy.   Should we feel guilty for being thrifty?  

I just left a comment (in response to some fear mongering comments) on beingfrugal.net that I wanted to  share here:

It makes me feel safer that we are all talking about economy and politics now!  Discourse is good for all of us.  

For what it's worth, my thoughts about the recent economic downturn are this:  We shouldn't feel guilty for being frugal.  

American hasn't always had an economy that was based on oil and product consumption.  There was even a time it was based on slavery and tobacco and rum trading and thank God, we eventually, slowly changed.  Change is possible, especially if we are all willing to dive into what we're afraid of.  

And let's face it:  Less consumption, and responsible consumption, is probably a Hell of a lot better for  the environment as well.  

My two cents (and that's still a bargain!)

Our ability to fill up our lives with unnecessary products shouldn't make up our worth as human beings.  There, I said it!  Let's forgive and move forward.