The prices of various goods and services will inevitably rise at different rates as suppliers haggle and let prices fluctuate to test market demand for their goods and services. A revised pricing structure will then evolve as market demand increases more for some products and services than for others. A few businesses will benefit from the new infusion of money while many more will become less viable as they pay higher prices for their raw materials. Many in this latter group of businesses that operate with very tight profit margins could be forced to reduce production and lay off workers to remain viable.
 

Difficult Days Ahead

          Production slow-downs reduce profits and therefore the amounts of pensions that businesses can provide to retired workers. The Government of Ontario recently announced that it has insufficient funds to guarantee failed private pensions such as those of the automotive sector. The economic downturn may force a growing proportion of the population to survive on far less and adopt the frugal lifestyle of earlier generations. People who own land might grow vegetables on that land and preserve the vegetables, as did their grandparents' and great grandparents' generations.

          The economic recession may see the nuclear family of couples or parents and children evolve into multi-generational extended families involving a wider spectrum of relatives living in fewer houses. Deteriorating economic conditions in developed countries could see cousins, uncles, aunts, in-laws, and grandparents living under the same roof. Such living arrangements are common in many developing countries and could become the norm rather than the exception in the formerly developed economies as misguided politicians persist in adhering to debunked and refuted economic theories.

          Such policies risk prolonging the economic downturn and undermining the economic security of more and more people. Some may even have little choice but to return to primitive barter and exchange as a means of survival. Local currencies or underground currencies that could help facilitate local exchange could appear and perhaps be indirectly linked via a national currency to the price of privately-owned gold to assure its value. National governments that sought to ban local currencies in such a situation would risk creating even greater economic hardship for their citizens.

          During challenging times of hardship and crisis a percentage of the population, who at an earlier time may have abandoned organized religion as a source of spiritual guidance, may again seek a source of spiritual strength and guidance. Unfortunately many politicians and many members of the clergy have blurred the division between church and state. During the Great Depression many people who were overwhelmed by the events of the time turned to excessive drinking as a coping mechanism. In the modern era, a portion of the population will seek coping tools in religious scripture or in self-help books while others will seek that help from non-profit support groups that operate on private donations.