Over in tech land, they're calling it the Econaclypse

In philanthropy, we seem to be still hoping and insisting that the current economic situation will not decrease giving.

In the land of tech geeks and business folks, however, some are now referring to this moment as the "econaclypse."

In the land of Nobel prize winning economists, Paul Krugman writes in today's New York Times

"At minimum, the next two months will inflict serious pain on hundreds of thousands of Americans, who will lose their jobs, their homes, or both. What’s really troubling, however, is the possibility that some of the damage being done right now will be irreversible....But nothing is happening on the policy front that is remotely commensurate with the scale of the economic crisis. And it’s scary to think how much more can go wrong before Inauguration Day."

Sadly, in San Francisco at least, the debate is over - giving is off here as reported in the local Business Times.

Seems like a bad time to ask a question I first wondered about last year - given the contraction in the newspaper business, won't we also experience a decrease in newspaper driven "Season of Sharing" giving?

I'm not enjoying banging the drum of gloom here, but I just don't see how we can look at the job losses, foreclosures, continuing credit contraction, a nationwide 25% increase in demand at food banks, and losses in the stock market and think that our charitable pockets are still jingling with cash.

I hope I am wrong. I don't think I will be.

Tags: philanthropy, giving, recession, depression, economy