Which recession? The last one (2002-2003) is a bad example, since many of the people who worked through it went crazy buying crap (i.e. houses, cars, granite countertops) with the flood of cheap credit that was used to "stimulate" the economy out of trouble.

I spent that period in grad school, and while I don't have houses and cars, I also have no debt. I suspect I will end up better off in the long run -- we're just not there yet.