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In Time of Prosperity, a Marriage Slides Into Recession LAKE MICHIGAN -- Despite successful teaching careers, two daughters headed for a college, and a 22 year old relationship distinguished by infrequent turmoil and low interest rates, the Terre Haute couple Budd and Louise Hopkins are entering the 16th month of the deepest, most prolonged recession of their marriage. As they vacation on the shores of this picturesque lake, they communicate in cautious, muted terms, trying to swallow their roiling anger and avoid fighting in front of the children. "There is serious cause for concern," said Fed chairman Alan Greenspan during his recent testimony before Congress. "The nagging persistence of low-octane sniping and passive-agressive asides in the Hopkins marriage can no longer be ignored, and may very well betoken a larger romantic crisis. Should these conditions persist, I may be forced to undertake an infusion of the sexy." As first postulated by the Left Coast futurist Tymmi, an infusion of the sexy is an extension of classical Keynsian theory in which the government takes active steps to stimulate emotional or erotic activity in a marriage that unaided might slip into a downturn. As executed by the various regional branches of the Federal Reserve, an infusion of the sexy can take various forms, depending on the state of the relationship in question. Past infusions have included such components as flowers, rat-pack-style crooning, art therapy, Viagra, the music of Booker Little, slow-jam-style balladeering, treatment for depression and alcohol abuse, and most frequently, hours and hours of coerced pride-swallowing and talking through of Issues. "Ever since the fight after Thanksgiving dinner, which could have easily been defused had Budd been willing to apologize for his inadequate basting, the marriage has languished in passivity and unexpressed anger," said Louis Lipman, staff economist for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Discover. "Certainly any action by the Fed must address the communication problem." The Hopkins case will no doubt require a subtle mixing of interventions, as analysts cannot agree on the root causes of the problems, or on what steps should be taken to solve them. Most visibly, the couple have stopped sleeping together. "I haven't had sex in 8 months," Budd said. "It's been an odyssey into loneliness and misery even as we live together under the same roof." Louise is similarly keen to act but at a loss as to what form her actions should take. "A couple of weeks ago, I decided I wanted to break the spell," she said. "So right before bed, I put on his Navy Blues, like when we were first married. But he just took one look at me and said 'Give me a break.' and went right to sleep. I went and slept on the sofa." But perhaps more than a nonexistent sex life, the constant slights and insensitive comments from both sides feed on one another, creating an atmosphere of mistrust. Neither partner wants to risk a compliment or a kind word for fear of rejection, or worse still, indifference. Their marriage flounders for want of a kind word, a backrub, or a relaxing evening at Sizzler, and could seemingly be saved through a concerted effort to understand the other's point of view. But a nameless, eroding ennui seems to block their connection. "She's my wife and I still sort of love her, I guess," Budd said. "It's just that we don't have fun togther anymore." "If things don't change soon," Louise said, "I'm going to have to find a man who can give me what I need."