Lowering Rates?

Lately I've been reading a lot of articles about hourly rates and the effect our country's recession is having on them. Many freelancers are lowering their rates to keep business flowing in as much as possible, since consumers and businesses are cutting back costs. Other designers are doing away with hourly rates altogether, creating one-stop pricing per project, no matter the size or the scope. Then there's the other group of people who are just choosing to wait it out and do nothing, as far as a price change is concerned.

Of course, as designers and as small business owners, we've seen "calculate your rate" worksheets - those fill-in-the-blank sheets of paper promising to help you figure out your rate in order to cover overhead, tax and income costs. But what these worksheets don't calculate is the possible fluctuation needed to accommodate an unstable economy.

In my personal opinion (and I always have one), I feel it's somewhat "used car salesman-like" to move your prices up and down based on what people can afford to pay. As a professional, I feel it's more appropriate to run a special, or a promotion of some sort, should customers need a break. I was hoping to get a little feedback on this, just to see what other designers and small business owners felt about the issue.