Brave New Economy

And so we suddenly find ourselves in a new economy. It's not that we didn't see it coming, it's that we didn't want to see it coming. Smart people have been warning us for years, holding up charts and papers filled with calculations and scientific data.
Now we're wrong and they were right. But that no longer matters, as on the tombstone that reads, "He had the right of way..."
We're screwed.
As an entrepreneur I see the effects firsthand of the paralyzing scare that has the world in its grip. My sales have tumbled 60%-70%. Imagine that, suddenly having to make do with 30%-40% of your regular income...
I try to be proactive, like any sensible person, and have started to reduce costs on subscriptions, services, and generally everything that now weighs on me and my business financially.
I created a special website with Free Shipping items. Some have noticed, and placed orders. One of my other websites now advertises "Free Shipping On Orders Over $100." Again, some are taking advantage of that, but it hasn't helped sales and now I'm paying for shipping too, thereby reducing profit substantially.
I don't mind. Better poor than broke.
I will continue to do what I can to keep myself afloat financially, and I bet so will you.
But...
I have yet to see any gestures from the companies that matter in our lives.
The credit card companies haven't cut their exorbitant interest rates.
When I turned in my cable TV tuners, thereby cutting my cable bill 60%, Oceanic Cable, whose customer I've been for nearly twenty years didn't say, "what can we do to keep you as our loyal client?"
In fact, as I went about canceling services, none of the companies asked for a reason, or tried to retain me as a customer.
They don't need us? Well, I found I do just fine without them, and I guess this is the basis for survival—to be able to get by with just the essentials.
If we're all going to hell in a handbag, it is because we refuse to acknowledge what's coming and fail to draft a Plan B. It's for lack of vision.
Businesses that postpone finding solutions until they realize that without customers they don't have a company are screwed.