Welcome to the Great Recalibration

Photo by scribbletaylor on Flickr.com, (cc) some rights reservedWhether we’re mired in a recession or spiraling into a depression is debatable. But no one can argue that we’re in the midst of a “great recalibration.”

Consumers aren’t just cutting back on what they spend, they are questioning what they value, too.

The signs are easy to spot: TreeHugger foresees a home gardening boom, The Wall Street Journal reports that cobblers are seeing an uptick, stories abound of laid-off workers committing more “quality time” to their kids.

These changes may not be permanent, but don’t expect things to simply return to “normal” when the economy improves. The Great Recalibration of 2009 may be defining a “new normal” for years to come.

Update on Thu, February 5, 2009 at 06:28AM by Frank J. Oswald

MORE SIGNS OF THE GREAT RECALIBRATION. Per The New York Times this AM: “To most people, a salary cap of $500,000 would be anything but punishment. But in Wall Street’s executive suites, it amounts to a humbling pay cut — and, just maybe, the beginning of a cultural shift.”