In the poll, I said I thought we were in a deep recession that could last a long time. I am certain we are entering at least a normal recession that is part of what I think is a normal business cycle. Ordinarily that would not last very long on its own. But that is not all that is going on. We are also having this credit crisis that is not part of a normal business cycle --- it is an abnormal problem added to the normal recession. The deflation of the housing bubble, the resulting credit crisis, the cyclical recession, the stock market crash, and the huge national debt may all begin to reinforce eachother in bad ways and create a worse economic crisis. I don't think we are headed for another Great Depression (but it is possible). More likely the crisis will not technicaly be a Depression, but it could be severe and could last a long time --- maybe something like the "Lost Decade" in Japan during the 90's.