<The wealth was generated by industrial corporations and had been for 50 years. It was the blow to them that was the major effect of the actions of the FED and Congress which led the country into depression. >
But, it was the ponzi scheme built up on top of the sector IMO... government actions alone under normal circumstances wouldn't have created the great depression, just a trigger... Also, IMO the crash would have occured in any case, although the tariff actions clearly extended the downturn.
My take: Today is similar IMO, there is and was no stopping the collapse now occuring, just timing. It was the preceeding boom which sowed the seeds. Unfortunately we [U.S.] have been driving the global economy [especially in the most recent years] in a much more meaningful way than at any other time in history, therefore our current collapse will be the worst since the 30's IMO... and may surpass it in some respects.
<The farm aspect is merely a sidelight and was due more to farmers abusing the land and weather than its connection to the national economy. >
The migration to the cities at the time [do to structural reasons, not the 'crash', as you state] probably had more to do with the soup lines and our current impression of how bad it was than anything else though no?? I also don't think that this is totally coincidental in that it is the rise of the industrial economy that caused both the flight to these jobs as well as the over-investment and speculation in the stock market.
Many hold out the current situation of the 'service economy' as reason that the 30's "can't happen now [or again]. This is an especially misguided viewpoint IMO in that much of the service economy is simply a vertical integration of more and more economic value on a less diverse base: Banking, Investments, Advertising, Consulting, Retailers, Transportation, Telecommunications, much of Tech, Media, Sports... all riding on the back industries that have been moving overseas and shrinking here in the U.S. & Agriculture... where few work.
Scary IMO, people are WAY to confident that the fed can do anything...
DAK |
