A friend and I have been keeping a mental scrapbook of how grim this economy is nowadays. We drive by new car lots full of SUV behemoths that no one wants to buy. We see the lines of cars snaking around, waiting for gas at Costco. (Damn it, why do people have to stretch that hose to the other side of their cars?)

Fewer people seem to be at the malls. There is an increase in car break-ins in San Francisco tourist spots. Cranky diners seem to be less willing to cough up an extra dollar or two when they tip. Welcome to summer 2008 –the days will be hotter than ever, the gas prices will continue to rise, and so too will our collective impatience. The blunt fact is this: this condition is largely of our own making, and there is little hope that things will get better soon.

To put it plainly, we are creatures of habit. We consume too much, we drive our cars in clogged traffic, and we spend well beyond our means because we know this feels good. If there were some kind of instant gratification quotient that the average American consumer achieves each day, I’d say we were a randy, lustful bunch by now. We pile into the yellow Hummers and the black Escalades with the 22-inch rims because Read the rest of this entry »