Snapshots of the Great Unwinding, 1st person, 50 words or less

Challenge: document the unwinding of the just-in-time, cheap-oil-and-debt fueled consumer culture in 50 words or less. Make a verbal snapshot of the collapse/transformation - including positive aspects. Post as often as you want.

I'm interested because I live in Uruguay. Property values are soaring in glitzy Punta del Este - up 80% in three years. For most locals, though, there's an order of magnitude less distance to fall than in the USA: less affluence (real or imagined), not a consumer/credit society for the most part, families important, no universal fear programming as in the USA, benign police.

I read about TSA gropers, militarized police, foreclosures, food stamps, tent cities and RV living in WalMart parking lots, floods and drought and impending food crisis. What are you seeing day to day?

No essays, no analysis: just focused observations. Preferably 50 words or less. Extra points for haiku ;-)

calm in uruguay
but nothing lasts forever
dollars used in trade