Great Recession Shrinks Time Horizons -- And Pantries

With 17.3 percent underemployment, the only thing shrinking faster than wallets are time horizons. The Wall Street Journal has a compelling story today about how consumers are stocking their pantries only with the products they'll use in the immediate future, even at the expense of sales bargains. According to research done by SymphonyIRI, home pantry inventories have fallen 20%. Snip:

"For over two decades, Americans bought big, bought more and stocked up, confident that bulk shopping, often on credit, provided the best value for their money. But the long recession—with its high unemployment, plummeting home values and depleted savings accounts—altered the way many people think about the future. Manufacturers and retailers report that people are buying less, more frequently, and are determined to keep cash on hand."

It's hard to measure the average time horizon that people walk around with and I've seen scant academic research on the topic. But looking through the pantry lens, we're seeing what -- a month's perspective? Two? Not that people are necessarily applying the same measuring stick when it comes to voting for elected officials or saving for their kid's college fund, but food as a basic unit of life would seem to have an outsized effect on a person's point of view in nearly all spheres. What do you think?