First, the bubble in the technology sector. In 1929-30, new technologies such as radio and automobiles swept the nation and drove stock prices sky high, just as the Internet, cell phones, and computers have done more recently. In addition,Americans back then were up to their eyeballs in debt , and they are even more so today. And, when the economy started to stagger, Americans responded by tightening their belts. We are starting to see evidence of just that today -- consumer confidence has fallen considerably in the past year, and consumers are cutting their spending and looking for bargains at Wal-Mart and other discount stores.