“Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists,” said the famous economist John Kenneth Galbraith. After all, the average man on the street doesn’t care about the plethora of numbers put out by economists. They don’t affect him. Well, not unless things turn bad.

Last week, the Telegraphpublished a report on how the financial downturn has changed Britain’s spending habits. The cost of living has risen by ₤1,800 a year for the average home. The article doesn’t state how much incomes have risen for the average home.

The article reports that with the credit crisis, consumers are shifting away from buying luxury items to buying cheaper alternatives.

Aldi, the discount supermarket, reports a 25 percent increase in sales over last year, and supermarket giant Tesco is selling more budget goods. Waitrose, a supermarket chain appealing to richer customers, reports that it is selling more of its “restaurant-style ingredients” as people eat out less and cook at home more.

Oxfam, a charity that sells donated goods to raise money for the poor, has reported a surge in sales, with revenue up ₤1.2 million from last year.

According to the market research company Mintel, 57 percent of British consumers have cut back on spending because of their finances. Twenty percent have delayed a family holiday, 16 percent have put off home improvements, and 11 percent have stopped putting money aside as savings.

Dry economic statistics are forcing people to change the way they live their lives. This is only the beginning. A crash is coming—the only question is how soon.

Debt is rampant within almost all Western democracies. It is not merely a problem with the system. Debt is the system. It is so bad now that the U.S., British and many other economies would collapse if access to easy borrowing was taken away.

No system with so shaky a foundation can endure. The world’s economic landscape is drastically changing. The dollar is devaluing, foreign investors are beginning to abandon the United States, and investor confidence is shifting to Europe. The Trumpet has been warning of these events for years, based on Bible prophecy.

For more information on the Trumpet’s economic forecasting, read our article “Right on the Money.”