As the post-Memorial Day hangover lingers, and $4 per gallon gasoline becomes a national reality, expect more and more daily energy prognostications.

High-profile bankruptcies of mainstay American retailers, such as The Sharper Image and Linens ‘n Things, as well as the proposed mergers between Blockbuster/Circuit City and Delta/Northwest, and the admissions from the nation’s leading student lenders that their business models are no longer viable, mark the beginning of a long overdue overhaul of the American economy.