Here are my thoughts on the recession. They are based on observation only. I don’t have a degree in economics, or sociology, or business. I observe and I ponder. It’s what I do.

Imagine that you are entering your favored local grocery. As you are entering, a kindly older woman pauses and says “ I thought I should let you know that I heard they are preparing to pull all the bananas from the store. They’re contaminated”.

Now, you go into the store and based on your grocery list, you have planned to purchase bananas. But as you come to the produce section the word ‘contaminated’ comes to mind. Not ‘I heard’. Just ‘contaminated’. So you pass them up.

But as you hesitate, a young mother starts to put bananas in her cart. So you, of course, tell her that you heard they were preparing to pull the bananas due to contamination. She passes on the bananas. But the thought is now with her, too.

You go home, or back to work.. maybe spend some time on a social network.. and the banana incident comes up. As it does with the young mother.
Soon, the word of mouth grows, the media picks it up and thousands of banana farmers are ruined.

Because of one idea.

Now, of course, that’s a stretch. Everyone knows there are no banana farmers! Or are there?

The recession began the same way, or so I contend. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

You hear on the news one morning that the housing market is expected to be taking a downturn. Hm. “Maybe it isn’t a great time to put my house on the market.” Says you and a few hundred thousand other people. No sellers.
You hear that the interest rate is expected to start rising soon. Hm. “Maybe we should wait this out before we think about getting into a home loan”. No buyers.
You hear that oil prices are projected to hit record breaking levels. Hm. "Better cancel that flight, trip, cruise, reunion, road trip… and stay close to home." No travelers.
You hear that the job market could be virtually bottomed out by the end of this fiscal quarter. Hm. “Better not buy a car, new clothes, that HDTV, RV, boat.. never know if I’ll lose my job!” No consumers.
You hear that the stock market is trending towards a record-breaking low. “Better sell sell sell!”
Meanwhile… Grocery stores are losing money over the panic, and charge you a bit more. Plus the fuel surcharge is killing them.
Forget about an SUV, not with those oil projections! US car manufacturers founder.
Real estate prices start dropping for lack of buyers, sellers are stuck in the mortgages that represent the current financial market and are unwilling to bend. Mortgage companies.. now under scrutiny, are being less flexible thereby shutting out home-buyers that would have been otherwise investing in the economy.
Small businesses, your local businesses, have let some people go. Sales are down.
Businesses no longer advertise. Can’t afford it.
Local media are laying people off. Nobody can afford to advertise. Plus the fuel surcharges are killing them.
Local businesses close their doors. More people out of work.
So more people are unemployed and can’t afford the mortgage. They go into foreclosure.

The morning news now reports.. “It’s now a reality. An entire nation is being crippled by this recession. Prices are at their highest, interest rates are skyrocketing, consumerism is down, and unemployment is up!
You heard it here first.”

It was just a nice old lady with a banana story.