Is the U.S. going n2 a depression longer & gr8er than the 1930's?

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

I was doing this media comparison paper and there was this article on the new "Allen Greenspan" guy. He some billionaire in charge of the Federal Reserve that isn't actually a government bank or government treasury. It's a private bank that has been making money off of us since it's beginning. The name is deceiving though. This man who is the billionaire in charge of this bank said that the United States is looking at a recession longer and greater than the Great Depression of the 1930's. This television broadcast was also covered by radio and newspapers and online.

And while I was doing this media comparison paper on all the mediums of media that covered this piece of news I was thinking this Great Depression is and isn't going to be like the Great Depression of the 1930's. We're a more educated people living in a day an age of technology. We have access to internet and connection everywhere. We have the ability to track our money online within a heart beat and we have the ability to research sales and find the best deals and become incredibly resourceful people. In the 1930's we saw the women save the grease from the bacon in cans to save for later. Pieces of scrap metal were taken to the metal yards for recycling. People were resourceful back then so whose to say that we wouldn't be resourceful ourselves and use the new technology to our advantages?

It may be a longer depression, but I don't think it will be as bad because we live much better than we did back then and we have more people better educated now, and we have major advances in technology today.

Edited September 9, 2008 by Olivia*

[peejay 327]

What's the difference between a recession and a depression?

Answer: A recession is when your neighbor loses his job and a depression is when you lose your job.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Doesn't a recession proceed a depression but not all recessions turn into depressions. In economic turns it's when inflation turns into stagflation and eventual deflation?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Doesn't a recession proceed a depression but not all recessions turn into depressions.

Yes

In economic turns it's when inflation turns into stagflation and eventual deflation?

Here's some light reading for you.

http://ingrimayne.com/econ/TOC.html

[Aubrey 10]

Doesn't a recession proceed a depression but not all recessions turn into depressions. In economic turns it's when inflation turns into stagflation and eventual deflation?

From about.com:

So how can we tell the difference between a recession and a depression? A good rule of thumb for determining the difference between a recession and a depression is to look at the changes in GNP. A depression is any economic downturn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent. A recession is an economic downturn that is less severe.

Here's some great economic indicators for how we are doing. You can look at GDP for the US - it is closely aligned with GNP statistics in our country.

The other thing to consider is that during the Great Depression of the 30's, 25% of people were out of work. We're at ~6% unemployment right now. A far cry from the GD.

We've got problems, but this isn't a depression. It has a long way to go. Let's hope it doesn't.

[IAMX 3,055]

This sort of thing is exactly why I found it wise to dump my major for the third time and sought out a degree in something more diverse -- Business Management. Most industries with specific trade come and go (right now real estate agents, especially one which was my former stats professor, are relying on their alternate income, if they're smart, or toughing it out with more menial labor if not), however, all small/medium and large companies need a finance department and management. So at least you always have somewhere to go, and it's far more flexible, plus being able to take care of your own business and business statements, along with financial smarts, is perfect for raising a family and not being so committed to a 9-5 job.

[Nasturtium 500]

If it did get to where many, many people were losing their jobs and had to become self-sufficient and more couldn't afford prices of food and other basics, we'd fare worse IMO than in the 1930s. Most people now haven't a clue what to do in order to feed themselves, and a huge number of those that do don't have the means either in place or possible... living in an apartment will ruin your ability to plant things-- you can only do so much container gardening and definately not the surplus needed in order to make it through non-productive months. Also, even those who have a yard often times don't have the mechanisms in place. If you find out you're not going to be able to buy any more food, you're just going to have a very hard time making it on your own without having a garden already dug and planted. Now, people lived through and made it through depression in urban areas... but... our general population has just really increased beyond the 1930s scenario. Another problem is going to be fighting the export businesses... becuase if the people at home need all the rice AR grows but it's much more profitable to continue to export it... There's always some kind of patriotic ideal people get into saying we would really help our own, but somehow, I am not really buying that. I think it would take a bit of forcing.