I don't know that it's a sad day, but is a scary day with an uncertain future. Some economists claim that we've already begun to right the ship. For example, housing sales are actually up in many areas.
I've heard that without any government action this would have lasted 18 months at most. With government action ... all I can think about is FDRs New Deal extending the Great Depression by 7 years. WWII ultimately pulled of out of that - in large part because approximately 20% of the work force got drafted and were put to work over the course of the war.
I vaguely remember the Carter years and the claims of "here comes inflation on steroids" sends a chill down my back.
Scary is what I was referring too. From what I've always heard, they start calculating inflation differently since Carter's time in office to make it look better.