Consumer credit default and spending change

The NYT reports that there is:

Strong evidence is emerging that consumer spending, a bulwark against recession over the last year even as energy prices surged and the housing market sputtered, has begun to slow sharply at every level of the American economy, from the working class to the wealthy.

The abrupt pullback raises the possibility that the country may be experiencing a rare decline in personal consumption, not just a slower rate of growth. Such a decline would be the first since 1991, and it would almost certainly push the entire economy into a recession in the middle of an election year.
There are mounting anecdotal signs that beginning in December Americans cut back significantly on personal consumption, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy.

Citicorp just canceled my credit card for $133 of 60 day overdue. I had switched to e-mail only billing and they became spam. Oops. Given that I had a long and superb track record that earned them money for a long time, I do not like being layed off with the other 7000 employees. So much for loyalty, and so much for a 39 cent stamp and little reminder. My appeal fell on deaf ears.