It's really sad to see how selfish people are (or have become). I wonder if it is a subtle result of the seemingly permanently-lousy economy. This is a problem

It's really sad to see how selfish people are (or have become). I wonder if it is a subtle result of the seemingly permanently-lousy economy. This is a problem for all of us and we should solve it as a group, in a way that hurts as few people as possible. What happened to solving hard problems with innovation and intelligence? Why are so many people so ready to throw in the towel and abandon ship, taking whatever isn't nailed down on the way?