This actually happened to some extent in 2009 with automobiles. Purchases dropped from 16M/yr to 9M/yr, which was below the obsolescence rate of 11M/yr.
Re:The Simple Math Behind Early Retirement
by laumars on Saturday January 19, 2013 @07:44AM
(#5083240)
That's a poor response promoted by people who cannot grasp the basics of a 'hypothetical'.
Nobody is suggesting that everyone will stop spending tomorrow. However if an article discusses that people should save instead of spend, then the next logical discussion would be what happens if everyone takes that advice.
This is a poor argument promoted by the media in the last 50 or 60 years.
There is no way in which everyone will stop spending money tomorrow.
If something like this will ever happen (people spending less) it will happen gradually and the economy will have time to change.