Heard on NPR that even Hollywood is being affected by the economy. The lavish Oscar parties are going to be cut back. What the commentator said was revealing – some of it perhaps they had wanted to do before, but now they are allowed to, and some was PR – it seemed bad to be so extravagant.
Perhaps it is a sign of a subtle shift in our values…

It is the same in some businesses – there are some things, like trade show spending, where mangers are afraid to cut back because “we do it every year” and “it might make it look like we aren’t doing well”. Now they have the opportunity to do this (for some, they’d not call it opportunity, it’s more like slashed budgets).

I wondered how, in the last eight years, some of the politicians could call themselves conservatives when then didn’t advocate “conserving” anything – natural resources, environment, spending, integrity in business, etc. Things are changing -- I’m hopeful a shift to common sense and moderation will become a part of the change.