People who are waiting for vouchers and don't want to pay more than X dollars are not necessarily being stingy. They may not be able to afford more. And I think it is only going to get worse this winter. Energy costs are killing people on tight budgets. Gasoline has eased a bit, but heating oil is pretty high, and natural gas just hit a new record this week. (Again.) The high natural gas costs have also increased electricity prices for many. (My utility raised prices 30%-40% this fall.)

It's not just Poser stuff. Even brick and mortar stores are wondering where all the shoppers are. As one analyst put it, "when you can find a parking space in the first two rows of the mall parking lot at this time of year, retailers are in trouble."