Phew! We finally made it. To 2009, that is.

After almost a decade of prosperity, the California economy—the world's sixth largest—could not escape the grips of a nationwide recession in 2008.

Sky-high home values finally tumbled to earth, jobs began to disappear, and even the usually motivated Golden State consumer started pulling back on the reins.

The issue of the economy dominated elections at all levels of government, and vote-seeking politicians were quick to jump on the bandwagon with promises of reform and regulation. But as the year came to an end, it was sadly apparent that a quick fix from Washington or Sacramento wasn't coming anytime soon, or maybe ever.

Getting this ship turned around will take the country's brightest minds, working in tandem, those without a political agenda.

But it's also going to take a commitment from millions of individual Americans to not repeat the mistakes of our past.

Why not start here in Simi Valley?

In 2009, let's bring back personal responsibility. Make the signature on the dotted line mean something again. If you say you're going to pay for something, pay for it. If you don't have the money, don't buy it.

Let's save the credit cards for necessary purchases, not those "look at me" items we don't need. Don't be afraid to spend, just spend more wisely. And never forget the three R's: reduce, reuse and recycle.

There's plenty of blame to go around for the nation's economic downturn, but we should start by pointing the fingers at ourselves. All one needs to do is look at all the housepayments-on-wheels cruising on the freeway to know too many of us have been living beyond our means for too long.

One thing's for sure: We are going to pull out of this economic nosedive one way or another—this country is too proud, too determined, too resourceful not to.

What isn't certain is whether or not we'll retain what we've learned once we reach the other side.