As everyone struggles to come to grips with whether America is still in the midst of an economic downturn, the reality is that there has essentially been an economic downshift. Families, businesses, philanthropists, and governments at every level are redefining how they invest, spend, and save in an environment that is increasingly uncertain and competitive. Economists and pundits are desperately trying to forecast the point at which our economy will kick into overdrive once again, but they’re failing to acknowledge that consumers and investors do not intend to return to the undisciplined and overzealous patterns and behaviors that caused so much financial and personal hardship for families, enterprises, communities, and governments. While financial institutions and retailers are hoping and praying that buyers and sellers have not lost their appetite for greed and excess, people and entities are exhibiting more fear and austerity than anything else. People’s worlds have been turned upside down as their home values and investments have declined dramatically and their upward mobility is not as promising as a few years ago. When you add up the disappearance of personal wealth and equity, you get a populace that is downsizing in every way imaginable. The ripple effect of personal decision-making on growth and profitability in the business sector spells corporate downsizing as well as business dissolutions. Private sector investment, marketing, and distribution strategies are going to have to shift in ways that account for a consumer base that has shifted toward frugality and basic necessities and away from an inclination to overindulge.

As government downsizing reshapes the extent and form of benefits and aid that is provided to recipients, the shock waves are proving to be hard to digest for everyone affected. The impending cuts in entitlement programs and the elimination of targeted government agencies promise to alter the fiscal habits of people across the income spectrum. Even though most people recognize the need for governments to address deficits and debt levels in a substantial way, it becomes real when you realize that there is pain and sacrifice to be felt by practically everyone. This new age of austerity for federal, state, and local governments means that economic and social gaps will have to be filled by citizens, volunteers, communities of faith, nonprofits, and all kinds of firms and organizations who may have the human resources and expertise necessary to respond to the kinds of needs that people are accustomed to receiving from the public sector or purchasing on their own. These are opportunities for entities in every community to create new avenues of relevancy and efficiency in the surrounding areas. There has to be a renewed sense of volunteerism and altruism as we all cope with and adjust to the kinds of cutbacks and setbacks that people and enterprises will continue to experience as America’s economic paradigm shifts.