Great Depression Vs Great Recession Essay

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Determining the most depressing. The Great Depression of the late 1920’s and early 1930’s and the Great Recession of 2007 – 2009 were both times of major loss in the economy of the United States. Whether it is the amount of money lost or the amount of jobs lost they are similar but yet different in a plethora of ways. The Great Recession began in December of 2007 and lasted until June of 2009. The causes of the Great Recession date back from the 1980’s ‘consumer age’, debt from the household income was the primary set-up for the recession, and large amounts of money being borrowed for houses (“Great Depression vs. Great Recession”). On the other hand, the Great Depression began on October 29, 1929 and ended in 1931. World War I, overproduction in farming, and other countries could not afford our crops caused the Great Depression; the stock market had little to do with the cause of the Great Depression (“Great Depression vs. Great Recession”). Both events were followed by nearly ten years of clear economic strength. Several banks were starting to separate their services, moving into real estate and other risky investments. People were spending unwisely, driving prices up. The average annual economic growth during the 1920’s is a little more than four percent. The Great Depression and Great Recession may have been more similar than different. Thousands of banks failed in the beginning of the Great Depression, causing millions of depositors to lose their savings. In contrast, there was not any case of that in the most recent recession. Some banks did fail but Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) protected depositor’s accounts. After this, the limit for deposits was raised from $100,000 to $250,000 (Global Development and Environment Institute). The economic consequences of both the Depression and the Recession are the salary cuts, both unemployment rates grew, more people became homeless, much lived in poverty, and sales prices grew (“Great Depression vs. Great Recession”). The similarities between both events causes was the people misjudged economics during the 1920’s and 1930’s and the modern age. They invested in careful decision-making, disregard towards the supply of products, and the people relied deeply on banks (“Great Depression vs. Great Recession”). The similarities between both events consequences were they both led to a financial crisis, which activated prices to rise steeply. People were becoming unemployed by the masses. Both had an extended recovery (“Great Depression vs. Great Recession”). The differences between the causes are the Great Recession took a long period of time to completely take its toll on the economy. …show more content…
It took over two decades, with several smaller recessions in between, to fully impact the economy. On the other hand, it took the Great Depression almost a decade to form (1918 – early 1930’s). Apart from overspending, both events invested in difficult categories. The Great Depression invested in the Stock Market, while the Great Recession (“Consumer Age”) invested in housing (“Great Depression vs. Great Recession”). The Great Depression’s consequences are somewhat like those of the Great Recession’s considering bank failures and unemployment but at a much devastating scale. When World War II ended, the Great Depression’s unemployment rate fell below ten percent. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” was programs and policies “meant” to improve conditions for the people’s suffering. The Great Recession’s federal reserve lowered interest rates in 2008 and later adopted the zero-interest rate policy. Tax rebates were mailed to middle and lower class households to promote spending. The federal Government spent 2.5 GDP in hopes of encouraging the economy (“Great Depression vs. Great Recession”). The 2008 Recession was recorded to be the longest decline in real GDP. Fifty-five months after the peak output of 2008, the UK economy was still four percent at its peak. On the other hand, in the same time period during the early 1930’s, the economy had recovered to be more than twenty percent higher than the 1930’s peak. Although the 2008 – 2013 recession was longer lasting than the Great Depression, the 2008 recession has seen one of the least damaging rises in unemployment in the first fifteen months. The Great Depression shows a greater fall in GDP (-8.0%)

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