Everyone remembers before the recession how things were. There were people who would show how much money they could spend running rampant. Most of those people have been silenced by the recession as everyday average Americans have grown tired of extravagance.

So here are a few of the things that have gone almost extinct through the recession:

1. Unaccountability. People feel as though CEOs and high level executives have had a hand in the recession due to their lack of accountability. We never heard from them or made them accountable for actions they may have done. However, now, they end up being the most accountable and when a company does something wrong, the CEO is the first to blame and the first to go.

2. People flaunting their extravagance. The days of people owning things like Hummers, bling, and having their homes featured on shows like Cribs has come to an end (for now anyway). Even the once very public Paris Hilton has been fairly unseen recently. Hummer has been dropped from the GM lineup and people are cutting back wherever they can.

3. Outrageous Gas Prices. I’m sure this one will end up making a comeback eventually, but as of right now the average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is around $2.65. This is far from the record highs of $4.10 a gallon for the same grade of gasoline from last year. Many people welcome the difference due to lower income levels and higher unemployment.

4. Less junk mail. Before there was a credit crisis everyone was getting credit card offers, including children and cats. Now there aren’t as many credit card offers floating around and credit card companies are being a bit more careful about who they are sending pre-approved offers to.

5. Stores that sell stuff we don’t need. Stores like the Sharper Image have just simply disappeared in the last year because they sell stuff that people don’t need and typically can’t even create a need for.

It’s not only informative, but it’s also entertaining. I recommend this video to anyone who wants another view (or a first view) of what happened.

In the 1920′s and 30′s depression, the government didn’t intervene before it was too late. Now, our government has taken many steps to stave off a depression. The FDIC is already in place, so there hasn’t been a run on the banks. There are federal work programs in place as well as unemployment insurance, so I don’t see unemployment reaching the 25% it was back then. Also, we aren’t facing a natural disaster like we did then (the Dust Bowl).

The government now, though, needs to put in regulations on the market. The SEC was created in the Great Depression, now there needs to be some other regulations put in place to help cut the losses and keep the credit crisis from happening again.

Like a broken record, the news is reporting that the fall in the markets is due to credit worries. Now the credit crisis has seeped into foreign markets.

The S&P financial sub-index dropped lower than it has in over a decade today.

Things are looking so bleak on Wall Street that Jim Kramer tearfully told people that if they needed their money in the next 5 years, they should take all of their money out THIS week.

One day the market will bounce back…One day. However right now we’re in the middle of a “what goes up must come down” conundrum.

With many professionals calling a bottom today, casual investors should now be investing for the long haul and not the quick rally. As always pigs get slaughtered and right now all the streets look red.