People just aren't making enough money to continue buying things the way they once did, especially as cheap and easy credit becomes a thing of the past. Savings accounts are draining as consumers struggle just to make ends meet, and still the numbers are dismal.

Over the past four months, consumer spending, the engine of the American economy, has done nothing but fall. Spending on rent, bills, and haircuts ran flat in December – and after adjusting for inflation, it actually declined to the worst monthly reading in almost a year.