Consumers hold their own here, but for how long?

For the most part, Naperville's affluence has made it pretty much inflation- and recession-proof.

The median household income in Naperville is way above that of the United States as a whole - $97,077 as opposed to $48,200, according to U.S. Census Bureau 2006 figures.

But as fuel prices and their effect on the cost of most commodities, including food, continue to rise, one wonders how long even Naperville with its high median income will continue to be unaffected.

Then when one includes the effect of a stagnant housing industry - in an area which is used to a booming housing industry upon which so many ancillary livelihoods depend - the thought that Naperville has been fortunate to hold out as long as it has comes to mind.

In the past few weeks, in The Sun and in nationwide media the focus has been on rising food prices.

The good news is that so far higher grocery store prices have not been a particular problem here - at least not yet.

The grocers interviewed by The Sun by and large said though they have had to increase prices some on certain items, they have not to this point seen much of a negative effect on sales.

That's a good thing, and one can point to that relatively high median income as bolstering the ability of most Napervillians to withstand not only the higher cost of a gallon of gasoline, but the higher cost of the milk, bread and other items that are transported by truckers who also are paying that increased cost per gallon of fuel.

And let us not forget the drain that diverting corn from livestock and human feed uses to produce ethanol has on both the price and the availability of that commodity.

On the rise in food prices, Dan Casey, owner of Casey's Foods, had this to say: "Prices are high now, but you ain't seen nothing yet. In my recollection, it's probably the most challenging times we've seen since the 1980s."

Sharply rising prices, especially for the necessities of life, take away whatever economic gains may be made by the vast majority of Americans.

Fuel prices, and hence other prices, will continue to escalate until our reliance on fossil fuels is drastically decreased by the development of alternative energy sources. That must be our country's No. 1 goal. Pain at the pump is anguish in the household.