Economic upturn and learning from the past.

I have been watching the news lately. There seem to be light in the long dark tunnel of recession. One sign has been the increased consumerism of the Holiday Season. One pundit stated said (paraphrasing) People don't care that someone is struggling to put food on the table. They wanted to make sure that gave the perfect gift.While I am not against the recession ending, I keep wondering if we learned from anything from the bad economic lessons. Are we going to go back to reckless spending, easy credit and no thought for the future? Are we going to back to a country that doesn't save or not make meals at home or clip coupons? Are companies such as the Auto Industry going to not innovate because it is not profit enhancing at the moment?I hope not but if we are going back to spending like crazy people because we have a little more change in our pockets; oh well, we are back to the same ole ways.Nonprofit managers often work with the most desperate of our society. I think it is imperative that we keep in the forefront responsible financial practices not only in our lives, but in our organizations. During the down towns we worked with lean budgets. This should continue. Pay our staff an livable wage, but monies should be used as if we are in a recession. I know personally that what comes up must come down. I don't want to be caught again living in desperation because I didn't learn from the past.