KOTA Territory NewsComparing today's recession to the Great Depression

Comparing today's recession to the Great Depression

Katy Urban

In the 80 years since the stock market crash of 1929, Americans have landed on their feet after each of about 13 recessions.  "We have come a long way since 1929," Economist Dr. John Quinn said. 

Today, the government backs our banks, there is social security for the retired, and unemployment insurance for the jobless.  

"The problem today is less with people being able to put food on the table like in the 20s and 30s, it's being very deeply indebted and living paycheck to paycheck," Quinn said.   That's a common scenario Quinn says many Americans can expect to continue well into 2010 and possibly longer.
 
"We have to create 400,000 jobs per month to make up for the jobs we have lost," Quinn said. 
Even with high unemployment rates and billion dollar bailouts, the severity of this recession and what it will take to recover still pales in comparison to the Great Depression.  

There is one aspect that's exactly the same according to Quinn, "No matter how much human beings learn about the past we seem doomed to repeat the over-speculation and the greed, the indebtedness and so on and so forth."

It's a reminder, that economic downturns are a part of American life, and according to Quinn, are sure to happen again in the next 80 years.