The Great Depression

I just read an article on Wiki about the Great Depression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression

Now I know Wiki can not be relied upon heavily, but I did find some very interesting facts in there. Some of the article talked about attributing the Depression to Corporate Greed. Take a look at the following and tell me if you can see any similarities? I saw too many!

"The depression had devastating effects in virtually every country, rich or poor. International trade plunged by half to two-thirds, as did personal income, tax revenue, prices and profits. Cities all around the world were hit hard, especially those dependent on heavy industry. Construction was virtually halted in many countries. Farming and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by roughly 60 percent.^[5][6][7] Facing plummeting demand with few alternate sources of jobs, areas dependent on primary sector industries such as farming, mining and logging suffered the most.^[8] However, even shortly after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, optimism persisted; John D. Rockefeller said that "These are days when many are discouraged. In the 93 years of my life, depressions have come and gone. Prosperity has always returned and will again."^[9]

The Great Depression ended at different times in different countries; for subsequent history see Home front during World War II. The majority of countries set up relief programs, and most underwent some sort of political upheaval, pushing them to the left or right. In some states, the desperate citizens turned toward nationalist demagogues—the most infamous being Adolf Hitler—setting the stage for World War II in 1939.

The Great Depression was triggered by a sudden, total collapse in the stock market. The stock market turned upward in early 1930, returning to early 1929 levels by April, though still almost 30 percent below the peak of September 1929.^[10] Together, government and business actually spent more in the first half of 1930 than in the corresponding period of the previous year. But consumers, many of whom had suffered severe losses in the stock market the previous year, cut back their expenditures by ten percent, and a severe drought ravaged the agricultural heartland of the USA beginning in the summer of 1930.

In early 1930, credit was ample and available at low rates, but people were reluctant to add new debt by borrowing.^{[citation needed]} By May 1930, auto sales had declined to below the levels of 1928. Prices in general began to decline, but wages held steady in 1930, then began to drop in 1931. Conditions were worse in farming areas, where commodity prices plunged, and in mining and logging areas, where unemployment was high and there were few other jobs. The decline in the US economy was the factor that pulled down most other countries at first, then internal weaknesses or strengths in each country made conditions worse or better. Frantic attempts to shore up the economies of individual nations through protectionist policies, such as the 1930 U.S. Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act and retaliatory tariffs in other countries, exacerbated the collapse in global trade. By late in 1930, a steady decline set in which reached bottom by March 1933."

So what do you think? I think we have been here before. I think we are making many of the mistakes then all over again., but I don't want to close on a sour note so I will remind us all that many good things came from the Depression.

• The Hoover Dam
• Lake Mead
• Vermont's Back country Ski Trails
• Empire State Building
• GE Building
• Chrysler Building
•  Rockefeller Building.
• The Triborough Bridge
• Lincoln Tunnel
• La Guardia Airport 
• Overseas Highway linked the Florida Keys, and the dams of the Tennessee Valley Authority brought electricity and flood control to the Valley.
• Shasta Dam in California, 
• The nation's first freeway in Los Angeles
• Both the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
• and in my area a Highway that changed Westchester for ever.

I am sure there are many more, but looking at this list and knowing this all came from the New Deal, even though much of this was already in the design phase when the depression happened, I am excited as to what major changes we will see come to life as part of Our New Deal.

Will we see Solar and Wind energy become common place? Will we see a major reduction in pollution? Will we see... I don't know, but knowing what came about from the last depression, I am actually excited!

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