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The Great Recession has been going on for 3 years and counting. Incomes are down from a decade ago, the unemployment rate is hovering about 10%, marriage and birth rates are down, people are delaying marriage due to uncertanity about the future, and housing sales are dropping again as the tax credit expired. Housing prices have been dropping for almost 5 years and are STILL falling. It bothers me that the government declared the recession to be over a year and a half ago! How could they even say that? Tell that to the millions of people who are without work! In my area, three business have shut down in the past week due to lack of business, and one of them was an excellent Spanish restaurant that had opened 25 years ago. The value of my house peaked at over $900,000 in 2006 and is now down to less than $300,000. This is happening all over the country.
Obama has failed us. When he was elected in 2008, people were screaming, excited, cheering over this "victory." Obama inspired us saying he was going to bring "change" and "fix" the economy. The only "change" I've observed is that the economy has slowly gotten worse since then.
Not so long ago, we were in the deep pit of the Great Depression. 1/4 of the country was without a job, millions were starving and homeless.
Between 1929 and 1932, the average income dropped 40%. Thank gosh our economy isn't in that position right now.
But only 10-15 years later, our economy exploded. After World War ll had ended, we immediately entered a period of economic boom that was unprecedented and one that seemed unlimited. Housing construction exploded, over 1.5 million homes were being built yearly in the 50s. Millions of middle class families were moving to the newly built suburbs filled with optimism and excitement. You could by a brand new house in Levittown with no interest and 0 down payment. Incomes increased tremendously, and the cost of living was so cheap that middle class families could live comfortably off of only one income. This sudden economic growth gave way to a marriage and baby boom. People were getting married at record rates during this time and people began getting married younger as well. The average marrying age had fallen so low, that the majority of women married by the age of 19 and men around 22. The infamous baby boom, starting in 1946, became larger every year, the birth rate increased so much that families were having almost 4 children by the late 50s up from only 2 during the 1930s. Our country was rapidly modernizing with all sorts of new technologies being introduced, there were all sorts of mega projects being built all over the country to further fuel our economic growth. The possibilities then seemed endless, there was prosperity almost everywhere. With the exception of racism and a couple other problems, we were literally the greatest, strongest and most powerful nation on the Earth at the time.
What happened to that?
Look at where we are now compared to only 50 years ago. Our economy is now in a rut and will probably be so for a number of years to come. It now takes two incomes to support a middle class family and we're still left over with debt.
While we still are a great country, but we're no longer as great as we once were. Do you think we'll have another period such as the one after WWll?
The economic boom of the 1950's was created by the fact that Hitler, Germany, Russia, and the United States destroyed the manufacturing sector of Europe, completely.
There were only two major manufacturers after that, the United States, and Russia. Both of which did real well for a while. Russia just couldn't keep up with the free market.
Obama has not failed us. The Federal Reserve seems to think spending money will get us out of debt.
Until the debt is gone there will be no visible recovery. We will continue to limp along.
With so many in so much debt there can be no possible way to take on more debt because it is debt via "credit" that fuels economic growth.
The 50s were success rested on nearly every competing developed country having detonated. So thats probably not going to happen again.
Notice how the other first world economies that came unscathed through WW2, Switzerland and Sweden, consistently were in the top for living standards along with the US for the next 40-50 years. And today they seem to have some of the same problems. Despite following very different economic policies.
The 50s were success rested on nearly every competing developed country having detonated. So thats probably not going to happen again.
Notice how the other first world economies that came unscathed through WW2, Switzerland and Sweden, consistently were in the top for living standards along with the US for the next 40-50 years. And today they seem to have some of the same problems. Despite following very different economic policies.
Anyway, wasn't the max tax in the 50s over 90 %?
It was, but the corporate tax was considerably lower.
Now we've raised corporate taxes, but lowered personal income tax.
I'm for the opposite, lower corporate taxes again, raise personal tax rates. Corporations hire people, individuals don't so much.
The 50s were success rested on nearly every competing developed country having detonated. So thats probably not going to happen again.
Notice how the other first world economies that came unscathed through WW2, Switzerland and Sweden, consistently were in the top for living standards along with the US for the next 40-50 years. And today they seem to have some of the same problems. Despite following very different economic policies.
Anyway, wasn't the max tax in the 50s over 90 %?
High taxes yes but little to no personal/commercial debt.
Loans were pretty tightly regulated and borrowers had to put down money and take a stake in the risk.
Debt is what got us into the troubles we have today.
If we were to have a new revolution in something like energy technology, then a new global economic boom could follow.
But we've been groping around for one of those since the 1970's, so, you may need to wait a while.
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This is happening all over the country.
