http://youthvoices.net/discussion/causes-great-depression-1900s-article
The 2008-2009 recession can be considered as the worst recession since the Great Depression.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Great Depression, it began in 1929 and lasted for 10 years.
Here’s a little blurb taken from About.com on the Great Depression of 1929:
“Its kickoff in the U.S. economy was ‘Black Thursday,’ October 24, 1929, when 12.9 million shares of stock were sold in one day, triple the normal amount. Over the next four days, prices fell 23%. This was known as the stock market crash of 1929.
Unemployment Reached 25% During the Great Depression:
Life During The Great Depression:
The Depression caused many farmers to lose their farms. At the same time, years of erosion and a drought created the ‘Dust Bowl’ in the Midwest, where no crops could grow. Thousands of these farmers and other unemployed workers traveled to California to find work. Many ended up living as homeless ‘hobos’ or in shantytowns called ‘Hoovervilles’.”
I’m sure many of us have heard stories from our grandparents about the hardships they endured. I personally never have, because both sets passed away when I was very young and weren’t even in North America. But I have heard stories about the scrimping and saving, trying to survive on what little money they had. And I thought to myself, I hope I never have to live through that. While I never have, I did experience the effects of the 2008 recession. Although it was not to the extreme, things were very tense at my job at the time. People were getting laid off from the company. There were other reasons had contributed why I left that job. I felt I couldn’t stay at the job until I found another one, so I spent a few months being unemployed and then spent a year working in full-time in retail.
While it may not have seemed like a big deal to others, it was extremely hard for me to work that job. I felt above it, having graduated at a prestigious university and having worked a couple of years at a professional job. I was embarrassed because my friends were working at professional jobs or working on developing their professional career through additional schooling. I felt retail jobs were for students or for people who didn’t care about their careers. But like so many other people, I had to swallow my pride and accept it. A job is a job. I needed the money and at that point I took whatever I could get. Looking back at it, I really hated the job and hated the people who came to shop there because they had more or acted like they had more money than me.
I vaguely remember the early 1990s recession. A stock market crash occurred in 1987. Growing up in the 80s, I didn’t know what it meant, except my parents kept saying we were in a recession and money is a little bit tighter than usual. I can make a general assumption that the majority of pf bloggers grew up in the 80s and 90s, so you probably don’t remember this too well either. But our parents did. Why? They were adults. They had to work for a living. To support their family. To pay the mortgage. To put food on the table.
And that is why we remember the 2008 recession. Many of us had either recently graduated or were just starting out in our professional careers. We were just getting a taste of what it was like to earn a salary before the crash happened.
While nobody can predict the future or when the next recession can occur, we can only try to learn from the past ones because history does repeat itself.
That recession really has effected our generation. Short and long term as far as careers go. Let me just say kudos to you for working that job….I found myself in a similar situation for different reasons, but I know how soul-crushing it can be. You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do, though. And it’s better than sitting around mourning your job and not earning any money while you’re at it.
Very true. Pitying yourself and complaining about the situation doesn’t help. It’s the easy way out.
I think the “Great Recession” split our generation in two regarding finances: the one half who got stuck in a bad or no-job situation, and the half that managed to find a good job to ride the recession out with. For those in low-pay or no-pay situation the years lost in terms of revenue and savings renders retirement that more difficult to achieve due to the missed compounding opportunity (their young age), while the other half got to buy-into the market at historic lows. Good for you in sticking with that job, I had many friends in the same situation who didn’t have your fortitude.
I was very bitter and jealous towards the latter half. I didn’t think it was fair that I had to get stuck in the bad/no-job situation. However, I feel it has made me tougher. It wasn’t fun, but I was able to survive.
Thanks for the compliment!
Well I was mid-career and didn’t know how bad it could be. I was laid off in 2008, the height of everything. I have learned so much from the experience…mainly what NOT to do. 🙂
I believe a lot of people learned from that experience, including myself. They learned to be creative on how to make money and that side income can be a life saver.
I think this highlights why it is so important to have your own little nest egg to get you through those hard times, and have enough liquid assets to access at a moment’s notice. Hopefully we will be better prepared for the future should a recession occur again , which it will, because what goes up must come down.
Well said. I just hope the next one doesn’t come anytime soon.
It was a tough economy to graduate into for sure. I was very glad I was a teacher a recession proof career for the most part.
I decided to (had to) stay in my current position because the job market was so bad. I had a number of unexpected financial obligations-including helping out a family member. I also worked for awhile at an olive oil store in addition to my full-time job. You have to do what you have to do. But, because of the experience with the Recession I’ve become uber obsessed with getting my finances in order. Am borderline paranoid with this…
I know exactly what you mean. I am constantly re-evaluating my budget, tracking my expenses, because I am so afraid that it could happen to me again.
bf and I both feel really fortunate to be in jobs at companies that are pretty stable. Both of us have considered looking for new jobs, but in such an unstable economy we feel like we’d rather hold on for a little bit longer. The devil you know mentality. If we went somewhere else and got laid off or disliked it more, then what?
It’s probably best to do so. You’re always taking a risk when going to a new job. I would like to stay with the organization I’m with in the long term, but would definitely want to move to a different department/position in the near future.