What's Going On? What's happened to quality & service?

While there are exceptions, I'm noticing that service and quality is getting worse and worse. I'm finding more to complain about and fewer good experiences. What's happening?

Does a recession cause quality and service to drop? Is it that costs are being cut so much that quality and service can't be maintained? I wonder about that because prices have gone up significantly over the past year. Things cost more but the quality is poorer. Is it that government regulations are forcing businesses into bad business practices? It seems the more government tries to fix something, the worse it gets. I don't know what's happening, but it's making want to stay home.