Crisis aside, many face other economic woes

Up until a few years ago, Wolfe said, "Energy was just really cheap, and it was wonderful for ordinary people. And, in a relatively short period of time, energy has gone from really cheap to not so cheap to kind of expensive. And that’s creating a lot of turmoil.”

Wyss, the economist, is still predicting this will be a mild recession. Still, he notes that even a shallow recession is a tough adjustment for many Americans, who endured a minor recession in 2001 but haven’t experienced a sharp economic contraction since 1991.

He expects that the unemployment rate will eventually rise to 7 percent, from 6.1 percent currently and 4.7 percent a year ago. And, he notes, regional developments, such as a strike at aircraft maker Boeing and job losses in New York as a result of the financial crisis, also could be a drag on the economy.

Retail sales, a major driver of the economy, are expected to remain weak through the holiday season, both because people are being squeezed by higher costs for necessities and because it is harder to get a loan for big items like a car. Wyss also is seeing that even those who are in pretty good financial shape are cutting back “because it’s the thing to do.”

Pamela Fettig still has a job in the publishing industry and her mortgage isn’t in jeopardy. Still, the 36-year-old Indianapolis resident said the current economic downturn has led her to cut back her spending, including canceling a planned vacation.

That’s partly because many in her family are already feeling the pinch. Fettig said her brother recently lost his job, and her father was forced to sell his small business a few years back because of high costs.

“It’s really scary right now,” she said.

To those like Fettig who are already struggling, the dire warnings from politicians about how things could get worse without a federal bailout for Wall Street feels patronizing.

“It’s like, ‘Come on, who do you think you’re talking to?’” Fettig said. “We’re living it.”

Geoffrey Thompson, 47, is concerned about how the government is dealing with the crisis on Wall Street. But the engineer, who lives in Austin, Texas, is more concerned about other economic problems that impact him — and many Americans — more directly. Those include the weak U.S. dollar and high food prices.

“I don’t look at it like, ‘Phew. Oh, they’re bailing out the banks. Now things are good,’” Thompson said.

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