Heh, this recession is hitting the UK pretty hard too. Our currency is being devalued - like I saw a Warhammer site that suggested importing shit from the UK as it's actually CHEAPER here to buy in dollars than America now! Weird man, weird. Albeit slightly lame to be looking at Warhammer sites and shit.
But yeah, jobs are becoming increasingly scarce here. I live in a major city, so it's not a massive problem here, but I have a few friends who are on hard times. Thankfully I'm employed by the CIVIL SERVICE (I'm a teacher, doy) so, in actual fact, I'm one of the few people advantaged by the recession. Properties are cheaper, goods are cheaper and my job is totally secure - it's not like they lay teachers off because a school loses money! So yeah, on a selfish note, I'm actually quids in.
However, on a more serious note, our Prime Minister is getting blamed for the recession in its entirity, and is going to lose the next election because of this. This really sucks as (in my opinion) he's actually a really decent guy who has socialist leanings. These leanings, however, are being blamed for the recession - "IF GORDUN BROOWN WULD HAVE SAVED SUM MUNAY INSTEAD OF SPEND ON HOSPITULS AND SKOOLS THEN WE WULD BE OKS NOW!!!" is the attitude of the day really. Our Conservative party looks set to win in 2010 with their plan of slashing public spending. This means most people will have less money AND shitter services. Good times!
Thankfully I blew my credit rating to shit while at uni, so the "credit crunch" isn't directly affecting me either - I don't live on credit, I pay for everything up front. While this makes my cash less flexible, it means I'm not in a position where I own anything I can't afford.
Hooray for me!