Try to think of a group in America you think would be LEAST likely to be affected by recession. You know, simple folk who farm the land, eschew gas-powered transportation, and are deeply religious. Kinda like… the Amish.

Nope, they’re hosed too. A few examples of conspicuous Amish consumption:

“People wanted bigger weddings, newer carriages,” Mr. Lehman says. “They were buying things they didn’t need.” Mr. Lehman spent several hundred dollars on a model-train and truck hobby, and about $4,000 on annual family vacations, he says. This year, there will be no vacation.

It became common practice for families to leave their carriages home and take taxis on shopping trips and to dinners out.

Some Amish families had bought second homes on the west coast of Florida and expensive Dutch Harness Horses, with their distinctive, prancing gait. Others lined their carriages in dark velvet and illuminated them with battery-powered LED lighting.

So they’re no longer living like it’s 1929, which was okay until they decided to take a page from that era and make a run on the bank:

Last fall, as layoffs drained income from the community, deposits into the trust fell to about $600,00 from between $1 million and $1.5 million a month, Mr. Bontrager says. In November, the trust suspended lending.
Over the winter, rumors began to circulate that the [Amish bank, the Tri-County Land Trust, not insured by the FDIC] was running out of money. The run, as Mr. Bontrager describes it, began in April. It lasted about six weeks. Mr. Bontrager says about 100 depositors made significant withdrawals, and some emptied their accounts. The $1 million reserve fund was wiped out. The trust hasn’t yet resumed lending.

This leaves the Amish in an area with nearly 18% unemployment and unable to take out loans to engage in any business endeavors. But hey – at least, unlike us city slickers, they have land to farm on and the know-how to do so. So Advantage: Amish, even if their bank is fail.