What Happened to “You’re Welcome”?

The language police at Salon lament the rise of “No problem” over “Thank you” because, they say, the former shrugs off bonds created by social interaction instead of affirming them. “‘No problem’ translates as, ‘What I did for you was not the sacrifice you so charmingly believe it to be. I hereby release you to get on with your day, blessedly free of guilt.’ In other words, ‘No problem’ reverses the terms of the transaction. Rather than your doing a favor for an establishment by shopping there, suddenly the establishment is doing you a favor by having its employees help you, then reassuring you that it was no big deal, seeing as how you were already in the store and all.”