-
-
Bailouts are common, but results are mixed
Government has throughout U.S. history stepped in, there are some lessons
The stock market plummets, investors pull out money and loans dry up, triggering global financial turmoil. Enter the government, buying up bad mortgages and other problem assets.
This scenario from the 1930s sounds eerily current, in part because the Bush administration is taking pages from the playbooks Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt used to unfreeze credit and keep Americans from losing their homes three-quarters of a century ago.
From the Great Depression to the Chrysler bailout in 1979 to the savings and loan crisis that cost taxpayers $125 billion in the 1990s, the current administration has many government interventions from which to learn. If the history of previous bailouts holds any single lesson, however, it's that the outcomes are unpredictable and the problems will take years to work out. Government has throughout U.S. history stepped in, there are some lessons ... more -
Hughes's Life and Career--by Arnold Rampersad
Born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri, Langston Hughes grew up mainly in Lawrence, Kansas, but also lived in Illinois, Ohio, and Mexico.
-
About The Dust Bowl
For eight years dust blew on the southern plains. It came in a yellowish-brown haze from the South and in rolling walls of black from the North. The simplest acts of life — breathing, eating a meal, taking a walk — were no longer simple. Children wore dust masks to and from school, women hung wet sheets over windows in a futile attempt to stop the dirt, farmers watched helplessly as their crops blew away. For eight years dust blew on the southern plains. It came in a yellowish-brown haze from the South and in rolling walls of black from ... more
-
The Depression in the U.S.--An Overview
In October 1929 the stock market crashed, wiping out 40 percent of the paper values of common stock. Even after the stock market collapse, however, politicians and industry leaders continued to issue optimistic predictions for the nation's economy. But the Depression deepened, confidence evaporated and many lost their life savings. By 1933 the value of stock on the New York Stock Exchange was less than a fifth of what it had been at its peak in 1929. Business houses closed their doors, factories shut down and banks failed. Farm income fell some 50 percent. By 1932 approximately one out of every four Americans was unemployed.
The core of the problem was the immense disparity between the country's productive capacity and the ability of people to consume. Great innovations in productive techniques during and after the war raised the output of industry beyond the purchasing capacity of U.S. farmers and wage earners. The savings of the wealthy and middle class, increasing far beyond the possibilities of sound investment, had been drawn into frantic speculation in stocks or real estate. The stock market collapse, therefore, had been merely the first of several detonations in which a flimsy structure of speculation had been leveled to the ground.
The presidential campaign of 1932 was chiefly a debate over the causes and possible remedies of the Great Depression. Herbert Hoover, unlucky in entering The White House only eight months before the stock market crash, had struggled tirelessly, but ineffectively, to set the wheels of industry in motion again. His Democratic opponent, Franklin D. Roosevelt, already popular as the governor of New York during the developing crisis, argued that the Depression stemmed from the U.S. economy's underlying flaws, which had been aggravated by Republican policies during the 1920s. President Hoover replied that the economy was fundamentally sound, but had been shaken by the repercussions of a worldwide depression -- whose causes could be traced back to the war. Behind this argument lay a clear implication: Hoover had to depend largely on natural processes of recovery, while Roosevelt was prepared to use the federal government's authority for bold experimental remedies. In October 1929 the stock market crashed, wiping out 40 percent of the paper values of common stock. Even after the stock market colla... more -
Worst Crisis Since '30s, With No End Yet in Sight
"The financial crisis that began 13 months ago has entered a new, far more serious phase."
-
How did the media respond to the Great Depression in the 1930's
Someone had the great idea of comparing todays media response to yesterdays, and it seems that there are similarities right across the board. Optimism seemed to take over the voices of the majority whilst critics of the way American spending was not being curtailed were sidelined.
It's an interesting look at how humanity has a habit of repeating its mistakes over and over again, with an almost military precision. Someone had the great idea of comparing todays media response to yesterdays, and it seems that there are similarities right across the... more
-
related topics
The Great Depression
Contributors (18)
The Great Depression
