The final months of 2008 have witnessed massive layoffs, an imploding financial system and an unprecedented housing crisis in the United States. In November, consumer spending dropped 3.8 percent – one of the largest one-month declines in recent history. Financial giants including Lehman Brothers have gone under, while others such as AIG (American International Group) Inc. have received billions in bailouts from the federal government in a desperate attempt to keep the U.S. economy afloat. Even CEOs of major corporations are hurting, conceding to $1 yearly salaries.