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The Cold War and especially suburban flight in the '50s and '60s. In the '70s and early '80s we saw a series of rolling recessions. In all actuality, things now aren't yet as bad as they were then, let alone the '30s. Then in the '80s, the consumer economy rolled in, which other than the two minor blips in 1991 and 2001, kept on rolling until December of 2007.
If WW2 got us out of the Great Depression, then what kept us going after the war ended
The Cold War?
Short answer: Lend lease, massive new markets in Europe, and expansion into Israel and the mideast. We turned the UK into a debtor nation. We stepped in after destroying Germany's manufacturing ability. In the 1960s, the space race started to heat up, and during Nixon's rein the currency was made free floating.
The long answer is way too long and complicated to go into here.
If WW2 got us out of the Great Depression, then what kept us going after the war ended
The Cold War?
Globalism wouldn't be a factor for some time and the country was making a lot of its own stuff, as well as exporting it. Also, more women were in the workforce during WWII and I bet many decided to stay. Increasingly, more women decided to work, thus adding more money to the budget. It was the beginning of the baby boom era, too, and as they got older, they added to the economy. After that, globalism started to kick in and the dollar started to fall relative to other major currencies. The cheaper dollar helps us with exports, but hurts on imports. The cheaper dollar makes our deficit appear larger, though it may help some against inflation.
On a personal note, aside from this topic, the only way out is the FairTax, which would help stabilize SS and Medicare and also help with the deficit and gradually strengthen the dollar.
If WW2 got us out of the Great Depression, then what kept us going after the war ended
The Cold War?
Hello NJ Chutzpah,
No, expanding off the depression got us to closing the gold window by Nixon. Then government debt and easing lending got us here. Easy lending is a debt currency printing press.
The Cold War and especially suburban flight in the '50s and '60s. In the '70s and early '80s we saw a series of rolling recessions. In all actuality, things now aren't yet as bad as they were then, let alone the '30s. Then in the '80s, the consumer economy rolled in, which other than the two minor blips in 1991 and 2001, kept on rolling until December of 2007.
Could the major rise in two-income families during the 80's have been part of why we saw a consumer economy roll in? At that time, it was probably more of a luxury to have incomes than a necessity like it is now.
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