Joseph Buzan1

Joseph Buzan
Mr. Anderson
English 1B
March 18, 2010

THE GREAT DEPRESSION

Vs.
THE ECONOMIC CRISIS

People that say that today’s economic struggles are the worst things that ever happened

are, in fact, wrong. The Great Depression of 1930 was extremely terrible. If you lived during The

Great Depression, you could have lost your job, your house, and could have lost your life in.

Therefore, those who are unenlightened on this subject should stop complaining and make the

most of what they have.

First, in October 1929 the stock market crashed, wiping out 40% of the paper values of

common stock (8 page 1). After the stock market collapse, politicians and industry leaders

continued to issue optimistic predictions for the nation's economy (8). But by 1932, 1 out of

every 4 average Americans were unemployed, and by 1933 the value of stock on the New York

Stock Exchange was less than a fifth of what it had been at its peak in 1929 (8).

In 1933 millions of Americans were out of work (8). Bread lines were a common sight in

most cities (8). "Brother, can you spare a dime?" went the refrain of a popular song (8). The

ensuing period ranked as the longest and worst period of high unemployment and low business

activity in modern times (paragraph 1). Banks, stores, and factories were closed and left millions

of Americans jobless, homeless, and penniless. Many people came to depend on the government

or charity to provide them with food ((1) paragraph 1).

If you lost your job today, you could join just about any organization, such as Employers

Overload, and find a new job quick. Whereas in the times of if you lost your job in The Great
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Depression, you would have to find work on your own without the help today’s technology and

organizations.. Hundreds of thousands roamed the country in search of food, work and shelter

((1) paragraph 1). Thus, if you are as unfortunate as the men and women who have lost their

jobs, then you have a slight chance of getting a better one.

Next, if you lost your job during the Great Depression, you were also likely to have lost

your house as well. Most people got loans from banks to help them in buying a home. When they

couldn’t pay the bank back, the bank would normally take possession of the belongings that they

agreed to sell to pay the bank. When the Great Depression accrued, the value in just about

everything either went skyrocketing, or lessened. But with almost everyone out of work, they

couldn’t pay for item. So, the banks foreclosed the homes of the debtor.

Fred Moseley said in his article The U.S. economic crisis: Causes and solutions, section

5: The Current Crisis, “Housing prices stopped increasing in 2006, started to decrease in 2007,

and have fallen about 25 percent from the peak so far. The decline in prices meant that

homeowners could no longer refinance when their mortgage rates were reset, which caused

delinquencies and defaults of mortgages to increase sharply, especially among subprime

borrowers.” From 2006 to 2008, “the percentage of mortgages in foreclosure tripled, from 1

percent to 3 percent, and the percentage of mortgages in foreclosure or at least thirty days

delinquent more than doubled, from 4.5 percent to 10 percent. These foreclosure and

delinquency rates are the highest since the Great Depression; the previous peak for the

delinquency rate was 6.8 percent in 1984 and 2002. And the worst is yet to come. The American

dream of owning your own home is turning into an American nightmare for millions of

families.” ((6) MOSELEY , FRED . "The U.S. economic crisis: Causes and solutions ." 00 03-4

2009 . Web. 8 Mar 2010. <http://www.isreview.org/issues/64/feat-moseley.shtml>) Today,

 Joseph Buzan3

losing your home is getting to be more and more likely, or the price of your home is declining

rapidly. In the Great Depression, practically three people on any block lost their house due to the

lack of currency. But today, we have homeless shelters, food banks, and many organizations or

networks that can indeed help those of us who have lost their homes and/or jobs. Thus, the great

Depression was worse because most people who lost their homes had no where to go.

Finally, the Great Depression was dreadful not only because of unemployment and loss

of homes, but also because of death. In the Midwestern and southern plains, where farming is

traditional, famine accrued. It hadn’t rained for weeks, so the ground was no longer fit for

planting. This era of the depression was known as, “The Dust Bowl.” Any wind caused dust and

dirt to rise up into the skies and became dust storms ((9) Buzan, Julienne. 1511 NE 3RD Place,

Camas. 10 03 2010. Lecture). In May of 1934, great dust storms spread from the Dust Bowl area.

The drought is the worst ever in U.S. history, covering more than 75 percent of the country and

affecting 27 states severely ((10) Modern American Poetry. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2010.

<http://www.english.illinois.edu/Maps/depression/dustbowl.htm>). Most people died in these

areas due to breathing in to much dirt and dust in the air (9). Every time we breath in dust, it

stays in the lungs and has no where to go (9). When they, the people in the Dust Bowl, breathed,

their lungs were to full of dust to suck in air (9). Thus, they suffocated.

Today, there is no drought. People are dying because of natural causes, or other

situations. Today’s death rate is currently 810.4 deaths per 100,000 population (U.S.A.). There

are more deaths today than The Great Depression, but we must keep in mind that there were

fewer people in those times. So, the Great Depression could have been the cause of more death.

In conclusion, The Great Depression was indeed, worse than today’s economic struggles.

Even though there is almost no difference between the Depression and the crisis itself, we have
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networks and organizations that are helping to lessen the damage. Thus, The Great Depression

was, and to this day is, worse. So, those who believe that the crisis was more

depressing,depressing please stop cease your complaining and get on with h your life.
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(Citations)

(1) Web. 8 Mar 2010. <http://www.42explore2.com/depresn.htm>

(2) Gusmorino 3rd , Paul Alexander . "Main Causes of the Great Depression." 13 003

1996. Web. 8 Mar 2010. <http://www.gusmorino.com/pag3/greatdepression/>.

(3) "The Great Depression in Outline." Web. 8 Mar 2010.

<http://econ161.berkeley.edu/TCEH/Slouch_Crash14.html>.

(4) Smiley, Gene. "Great Depression." Web. 8 Mar 2010.

<http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/GreatDepression.html>.

(6) MOSELEY , FRED . "The U.S. economic crisis: Causes and solutions ." 00 03-4

2009 . Web. 8 Mar 2010. <http://www.isreview.org/issues/64/feat-moseley.shtml>.

(7) "Customer Satisfaction is Bending Over Backwards." 18 02 2010. Web. 8 Mar 2010.

<http://american-crisis.health-tips-diseases.com/>.

(8) "The Depression in the United States--An Overview." Modern American Poetry. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 8 Mar 2010. <http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/overview.htm>.

(9) Buzan, Julienne. 1511 NE 3RD Place, Camas. 10 03 2010. Lecture.

(10) Modern American Poetry. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2010.

<http://www.english.illinois.edu/Maps/depression/dustbowl.htm>.

(11) "Deaths and Mortality." FastStats. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2010.

<http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/FASTATS/deaths.htm>.