Coming Up on Nightline

W A S H I N G T O N, May 4 -- Watching my finances is not my best thing. Fortunately for my mortgage and my marriage, my spouse is much better at it than I am. I'm not proud of this truth, but occassionally, impulse buying, sloppy book keeping, and general concern about today and not tomorrow lead me to spend more than I have. Not a lot more - just a little.

But as Robert Krulwich explains in tonight's broadcast, as only Robert Krulwich can, spending a few more pennies than you earn could portend a major problem for this country. According to people who study such data, it's something most Americans have been dong for several years now. This past December, Americans were spending eight cents more than they earned on EVERY dollar.

Spending more than you have drives a strong economy. But when the economy shrinks, or at least wobbles, as it has of late, this trend could be more problematic.

The question we would all like to know is this: is a recession coming? As Robert explains, we may not know the answer to this question just yet, but we can learn a lot by looking at the high tech industries for clues. As America's fortunes were linked to the fortunes, or failures, of Big Steel and later, Big Auto, now we seem to be linked to the roller coaster ride of technology companies. Are technologies our new guiding industry? And if they are, what does can we expect in the coming months?

After Robert Krulwich lays out these two concerns, we'll close with a more optimistic view from economist Paul Krugman. He's not as concerned about personal savings and spending (which should come as a welcome point of view if you have my problems with finances) but wait until you hear what he has to say about those high tech firms...

We hope you can joins us.

Sara Just is a senior producer at Nightliine.