• The New York Times , Wednesday, November 12, 2008 10:45 AM

We've been calling it The New Frugality from as far back as Monday, but that phrase may not fully capture the depths of consumer despair we're facing. David Leonhardt's column hits the top of Page One today with the following pronouncement: "The American consumer, long the spender of last resort for the global economy, may finally be spent."

We are, by nature, an optimistic lot, always looking for an excuse to spread our credit lines amongst worthy merchants and purveyors of service. Polls cited by Leonhardt show that we're ready to latch onto any 'ol piece of halfway-encouraging news to justify our ho-ho-ho outlook.

But, for the foreseeable future (2009), facts may get in the way. You know the mantra. The weakening job market. Mounting private debt. Anemic savings. Now the Financial Times reports that even Harvard is considering cutting spending due to a battered portfolio. And this just in from the Detroit News: Only three in 10 consumers say they have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of trust in department stores, according to a Better Business Bureau survey. They're afraid that they won't be able to exchange Christmas gifts or use their gift cards.

All this gloom adds up to spending during the last few months actually falling at an annual rate of 3%. Leonhardt's not predicting the end of consumerism, he assures us in conclusion, but he is saying that the American consumer culture "might be changing."

Hmmm. That sounds only half bad after all. Soon as I'm done here, I'm off to the mall .

Read the whole story at The New York Times »