Wednesday, October 15, 2008

US confronts possibility of long, deep recession : National News : Knoxville News Sentinel

US confronts possibility of long, deep recession : "A recession is typically defined as a period in which the economy shrinks for two quarters in a row. In the 2001 recession, the quarters weren't even consecutive.

But in the 1970s, the recession stretched on for a year and a half. Nearly 2.2 million people lost their jobs. By the end of 1974, the Dow Jones industrial average had lost more than 40 percent of its value. At the same time, the nation was focused on the Watergate scandal and the vacuum left by President Nixon's resignation in August 1974.

The economy began to recover in spring of the next year. But inflation, which had eased as the oil embargo was lifted, spiked again. By 1980, prices were rising at an annual rate of 13.5 percent."

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The point of this article is that we haven't had a deep recession since the early 1970s, and many people don't know what it feels like. I am astounded by the depth of political ignorance this year, as people get ready to vote but don't even know the Democrats control Congress, and I guess the economic ignorance is much worse.

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