NEW YORK — The images of bread lines, dust storms and squatters' camps are missing in the aftermath of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Stocks have rebounded sharply from the 12-year low hit in March 2009 during the Great Recession. The U.S. economy, while still sluggish, is growing again. And fears of financial Armageddon have mostly faded.
Yet comparisons to the woeful 1930s continue to pop up in Wall Street research reports, newspaper op-ed pieces, doomsday books and the financial blogosphere. There is a nagging sense that the roller coaster ride investors have been on since the 2008-09 financial meltdown may not be over — and that a '30s-style boom-bust, boom-bust cycle can't yet be ruled out — as the economy and markets muddle through the difficult post-bubble workout period.
VOICES: What is the American dream?
The Dow Jones industrials' 261-point plunge Friday sparked by a sharp drop in consumer sentiment in July highlights that gloominess persists.
Fueling the angst is fear that the still-fragile, jobs-starved economy will suffer a relapse, or double dip, as government stimulus is phased out. Consider:
•In a recent note to clients, David Rosenberg, chief strategist at Gluskin Sheff, ticks off a slew of similarities between then and now under the heading, "Daring to Compare Today to the '30s."
My parents married in 1933 the depth of the great depression. My grandparents and five of their adult children and a number of grandchildren planted a large garden (about 1/2 acre) where they grew much of their food to get them trhough the depression. In all the many discussions over many years with parents, grandparents, aunts and uncle's the one real good insight I got from it all was the answer to may question about why didn't people prepare better. The response is that they didn't know they were going into an 11 year depression they thought it was just an recession and next year thngs would be fine. In fact if WW II had not occurred we would probably still be in the depression. The lesson is prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Too many people today are preparing for a simple recession. I bought 25 lbs of rice at WINCO the other day for $10.98. That is cheap. Food is cheap and readily available right now. Do you think it will be once we all realize we are in a "great depression" again?? Prepare as though your life depended on it. Today you could go to any supermarket and buy a years supply of food. I'm thinking in 6 months or a year or so your local supermarket won't have shelves full of food and what they do have will cost a lot more then it does today. If you are buying beer or cigarettes and not buying food you are making a mistake, exactly the same mistake American's made back in the 30's.
ReplyDeleteLMAO!
ReplyDeleteThis is the lamest asshole of all articles. Un...believable. What a fucking joke.
"The images of bread lines, dust storms and squatters' camps are missing in the aftermath of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Stocks have rebounded sharply from the 12-year low hit in March 2009 during the Great Recession. The U.S. economy, while still sluggish, is growing again. And fears of financial Armageddon have mostly faded."
OH MY GOD. OMG. What a bogus, lousy twit. usatoday article... oh dear.
It's getting worse right before our very eyes, fears are growing more than ever. More people are realizing we're in deep shit by far more than last year.
Did this idiot read the CNN headlines about the economy, believed it, and then got to put his dumbass opinion in usatoday? Unreal.
EA you can do better than this man. This guy is ridiculous, his belief that the worst is over or things have been saved sounds like something Joe Biden would have people believe.
WHAT THE FUCK!?!?!?
And I wish people would stop comparing this to the Great Depression, this is a 10000% different era. There is no more economic downfall then a pickup - we're heading straight to the abyss. Money as we know it along with banking will become obsolete. We're going to need an entirely new foundation for civilization after the dust is settled.
The 6,000 year foundation of human order is cracking apart. Millions of different "colonies" have emerged into one massive network, becoming interwoven and with constant turmoil. All things are being uprooted from the collective consciousness and revealed to the naked perception. This is beyond any economists ability to understand. There are thousands of different factors effecting this GROWING crisis. The mental energy on this planet alone will not allow things to flatline or settle. It is inevitable what is coming, you can try to run and hide but you are one with all and all is one with you.