Reccession Leads to Moderation?

I was listening to the radio the other morning, and the talk show hosts were discussing how the extremely wealthy Americans are trying to be discrete about their wealth these days. When they shop at stores like Chanel, they ask for garbage bags to carry their purchases in so that people don't see that they just spent thousands on, say, designer shoes. Today, being thrifty is in, and spending excessive amounts on designer clothes is seen as greedy and even wasteful. This discussion made me wonder how our economy today has affected our consumer culture. How has this economic downturn affected Americans' attitudes as consumers?
An article in Time Magazine titled "How Consumers Shop Differently Today" details how Americans are shopping more wisely these days, preparing for themselves for the worst case scenario in order to ensure financial security in the future. As writer Sean Gregory explains in the article, "Sure, I can afford the plasma television now, but should I save that $2,000, in case I get laid off tomorrow?" Turbulent financial times inevitably make people more careful with their money. We can only hope that this recession will make people more cautious about spending, but could this caution, this increased reluctance to spend $2,000, make our nation as a whole less greedy? By design, consumer culture trains people to take as much as they can for as little as possible, causing many Americans to have a sort of "Buy, buy, buy" and "Give me more" mentality. However, the acute awareness many are gaining of the importance of saving has taught many to resist those material temptations. As Gregory explains, "There's the fundamental realization that Americans have woken up. Their bellies are too big, their cars are too big, their homes are too big, their debts are too big, and they have to go on some kind of a diet." Essentially, Americans just might be realizing that they do not have to take everything that they can get. Greed is what fundamentally drives consumer culture. Americans have always tried to get the most bang for their buck. That's why Supersizing a meal at McDonalds is so appealing. More food for only a few cents more, why not? Forget about your waistline, a deal's a deal, right? Well, hopefully this recession will make Americans rethink some of their choices and use more caution, whether they're watching their wallets or their weight. Overindulgence has always been acceptable, even encouraged, in this country, until now. We have always tried to buy as much as we possibly can, because in a consumer culture, material goods represent wealth, success, even happiness. But when there is less money around for spending, we are forced to consume in moderation. And the longer America spends in a period of moderation, the spend, spend, spend idea of American culture will decline and become unacceptable, and fewer Americans will live outside their means, and maybe, our society will be less materialistic and greedy.