Recessionary Tremors

How's this as a recipe for recession? Start with a handful of Wall Street titans falling (requiring a $700 billion bailout by the government) and U.S. companies slashing jobs and downgrading financial forecasts. Add rising house foreclosures, tepid retail sales, and a complete lack of consumer confidence. Finish with a global credit crunch and topsy-turvy stock markets, and presto!

Americans from every walk of life and each corner of the country are bracing for what economists are predicting could be a deep, protracted recession. On the following pages we bring you eight of them, who span different tax brackets but share a common anxiety about economic forces that seem beyond their control.

Carol Popovich | 56 | Automobile Parts Designer | Detroit

Marvin Reguindin | 51 | Marketing Executive | Spokane, Wash.

Larry Ortiz | 38 | Retailer | New York City

Dan Jinks | 45 | Film producer | Los Angeles

Gabriel Silverstein | 34 | Commercial Investment Real Estate Broker | Chicago

"Jane" | 22 | Dominatrix | San Francisco

Carter Wentworth | 57 | Graphic Designer| Wells, Maine