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Is the US going back to the 30's and 40's ? We all know how the 20's had strong middle class and was the haydays to live .Than the 30's and 40's most people had no jobs , lots of poor people , homes so small they would be small shacks by today's standards When the 50's and 60's had almost full employment ,good jobs and good pay.Yes homes where very small do to most people did not have any money in bank living paycheck to paycheck.
The 70's and 80's the growing of the middle class and most people had money in the bank by that time and home build in the 70's and 80's where much bigger .
By the 90's most people had million or more in the bank.But the 90's had major problem with people out of work and low pay.
The 30s and 40s were pretty different time periods from each other. Remember during the 40s unemployment was very low. Obviously due to WW II many men were off at war, and it took a national effort to convert the manufacturing industry to a war ready sector. After WW II the U.S. emerged as prosperous superpower, while Europe and Asia had been hit hard by the war. We had a booming manufacturing sector. Also, many of FDR's social programs had created a large middle class, with a lot of purchasing power.
The 30s obviously were a rough time. Certain programs that came into existence were helpful, but after the financial collapse and massive unemployment, the recovery was a crawl.
To be honest it is difficult to answer your question definitively. I don't believe things will ever be as they were in the 30s. But we do have massive problems that need to be addressed. The national deficit is obviously important, but really private sector debt seems to show a stronger link with rough economic times. Costs of living are increasing; healthcare, education, and now even food. Wages are not rising to meet these new costs. So more debt, higher COL, and low wages, will lead to less demand which could harm business activity. Also, though I am not necessarily anti-Fed, I dont think this new round of QE will help the middle class that much. Not to mention when the Fed eventually unloads its balance sheets, that will hurt the economy.
That said I still think we can come out of this. We are still growing faster than Europe, and contrary to political rhetoric we are still a very friendly business country. We have some of the most prestigious educational institutions in the world (which we have to find a way to make cheaper). Recently we have even had periods where manufacturing jobs return. My opinion is we have to find a way again to somehow either increase wages or reduce costs. Sometime, unfortunately reducing costs, means shipping jobs overseas. This may lower prices, but with higher unemployment fewer people will be spending.
We also probably need a mix of spending, tax cuts, and tax increases from the government. With slow economic growth government spending has less of a chance of producing a crowding out effect as it would in better economic times. They should also I think provide tax incentives on businesses that hire American and retrain American workers rather than shipping away jobs. I would be ok with almost a 0% corporate tax, based on incentives to keep American workers. I also believe moderate tax increases on capital gains and income over 250,000 could reduce the deficit, while allowing the government to invest in infrastructure (something we badly need) or education, or possibly additional work assistance programs.
Probably the most controversial thing, is I believe we need a national increase in the minimum wage. This will not affect the majority of small businesses, and these massive chain stores will still be making huge profits, so I doubt we will very many shutdowns.
...the 50's and 60's had almost full employment, good jobs and good pay...
because the raw number of people relative to the raw number of man hours needed was in proportion.
(if anything labor was in shortage)
Today we have a surplus of people relative to the raw number of man hours needed.
Consequently... the value per hour is reduced (low wages) for those who can even find work.
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The minimum wage has never been higher, $9.04 here now going to $9.50 in 2013. Unfortunately costs are so high that it's still hard to make it on that without an additional job or sharing rent. Still, it's nothing like the 30s, 40s, or even the 90s. I see things looking a lot better than 2008-2010. New home developments that were started but halted are now being completed, with new homes going for over $600,000 on small lots. In Seattle, Amazon is proposing 2 new office towers after hiring 19,000 people already in the last year. The national unemployment rate is 8.1% and continuing to drop, that means 91.9% are working. During the great depression it was 25% unemployed.
The minimum wage has never been higher, $9.04 here now going to $9.50 in 2013. Unfortunately costs are so high that it's still hard to make it on that without an additional job or sharing rent. Still, it's nothing like the 30s, 40s, or even the 90s. I see things looking a lot better than 2008-2010. New home developments that were started but halted are now being completed, with new homes going for over $600,000 on small lots. In Seattle, Amazon is proposing 2 new office towers after hiring 19,000 people already in the last year. The national unemployment rate is 8.1% and continuing to drop, that means 91.9% are working. During the great depression it was 25% unemployed.
First 91.9% of people are not working we do have kids in this country. The actual adult pop. that is working is something like 63.5%. Your post makes no sense
The minimum wage has never been higher, $9.04 here now going to $9.50 in 2013. Unfortunately costs are so high that it's still hard to make it on that without an additional job or sharing rent. Still, it's nothing like the 30s, 40s, or even the 90s. I see things looking a lot better than 2008-2010. New home developments that were started but halted are now being completed, with new homes going for over $600,000 on small lots. In Seattle, Amazon is proposing 2 new office towers after hiring 19,000 people already in the last year. The national unemployment rate is 8.1% and continuing to drop, that means 91.9% are working. During the great depression it was 25% unemployed.
No it does not count people out work for longer time so it more like 15% uneployment.
Some cities and areas are very bad where AZ is very low.
No it does not count people out work for longer time so it more like 15% uneployment.
Some cities and areas are very bad where AZ is very low.
True. I believe it is just under 15%, that is less than 09-10 though. I see things getting better but slightly for awhile, I think it is going to be a slow recovery, and I think we will have another recession in the next 4-6 years. Eventually we'll figure it out.
I doubt we'll reach the depths of the 30s. but America's best days are over. I expect a decline in the median standard of living, and while business friendly policies can reduce the level of decline, they cannot fully avoid it.
By the 90's most people had million or more in the bank.But the 90's had major problem with people out of work and low pay.
That's not how I remembered the 90's at all. I don't remember any McDonald's cashiers being millionaires or millionaires filling up the unemployment office. I certainly didn't have a million and neither did my family.
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When the 50's and 60's had almost full employment ,good jobs and good pay.Yes homes where very small do to most people did not have any money in bank living paycheck to paycheck.
