As an offshoot of a post regarding the bankruptcy of a restaurant chain in the U.S., and knowing that there have been what seems like a steady wave of "disposable income" type of businesses either dramatically hurt or shut down completely by the sagging economy, foreclosures left, right and sideways and.....given that I am NOT an economist, and wish I knew more about economics, I'm hoping others who are more knowledgeable or keep up on this area will have some input here.

I'm not looking for a finger pointing thread pitting one administration's errors against another's.

How bad could the economy get? What kind of timeline? Why? Does anyone have any projections they can share?

I don't think of myself as a doom and gloom person, but I'm ready to batten down the hatches now from what I've already seen first hand around me.

Chris L