A sign of the times

I went to the Burlington Mall today to buy some sweaters. As I entered I noticed new mall hours posted on their doors. Instead of being open most nights until 10 the mall will now close at 9. And, on Sundays it will close at 6 instead of 7.

I'm sure the cutbacks are in response to the economy. The stores must realize that the overhead in staying open an hour later isn't worth it.

As worrisome as it must be to see yet another signal that the economy is tanking, I wonder if this will cause Americans to pause and slow down. It used to be that malls closed at 9 or 9:30. And perhaps I am a bad American for saying so, but cutting back on spending isn't such a bad thing. We seem to have lost sight of the virtue of saving, and of patience. We want it NOW, and are willing to use money we haven't got. Maybe in the long term this will be a good thing. Meanwhile, in the short term, I'm guessing we'll continue the downward spiral.