Great Depression

Scary Surge Seen in Jobless Rate to 20%

Dan Dorfman | Posted 04.10.2009 | Business


Dan Dorfman

The dollar is getting stronger, we still have relatively strong banks, both gold and the greenback offer money-making opportunities, and this crisis is not the end of the world.

Chief Economist on Talent and the Economy

Jim Luce | Posted 04.09.2009 | Business


Jim Luce

"Our recovery may take years," the economist concluded over our last cup of coffee, "But smart people who work hard will always find a place." Talent will as always, he believes, find a home.

Editorial: Odds Of Depression Are 20 Percent

Wall Street Journal | Robert J. Barro | Posted 04.04.2009 | Business


Central questions these days are how severe will the U.S. economic downturn be and how long will it last? The most serious concern is that the downtu...

China and the Debt

Arthur Rosenfeld | Posted 03.28.2009 | World


Arthur Rosenfeld

The Chinese hold our debt and buy our real estate and in return we buy their manufactured goods. Perhaps we could bring some Chinese wisdom and savvy over too, just to balance the beam.

Iceland is Sinking

Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 03.28.2009 | World


Iris Erlingsdottir

It is hard to see how we will be able to maintain a middle-class standard of living if there is a severe global downturn.

Drinking Good for Depression? The Possible Repeal of Religious Repression

Warren Holstein | Posted 03.27.2009 | Comedy


Warren Holstein

Following in the footsteps of Franklin Roosevelt, many states are now advocating an end to what many boozers and businessmen alike deem antiquated puritanical pap. The Christian Right is not amused.

Like FDR, Obama Learns from People's Letters

Robert S. McElvaine | Posted 03.26.2009 | Politics


Robert S. McElvaine

President Obama's motivation in reading a sampling of the letters from the public is essentially the same as Roosevelt's was: "to help get him outside of the bubble."

Paul Volcker: Economic Crisis May Be Worse Than Great Depression

AP | EILEEN AJ CONNELLY | Posted 03.23.2009 | Business


NEW YORK — "Even the experts don't quite know what's going on." Speaking to a number of those experts Friday, Paul Volcker, a top economic advi...

The Oscars: Party Like It's 1929 ...

Martin Lewis | Posted 03.23.2009 | Entertainment


Martin Lewis

Perhaps we can celebrate in the same spirit that inhabited that first Oscars at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in May 1929, just 5 months before the whole world slid into the economic abyss.

Create Your Ode to the Financial Crisis

Craig Crawford | Posted 03.09.2009 | Politics


Craig Crawford

The songs and movies of the 1930's had a unifying effect on the country during the Great Depression. I want to see your contributions about today's crisis.

Dems (and Obama) Are Losing the Economic Argument: They May Also Lose the Economy

Paul Abrams | Posted 03.08.2009 | Politics


Paul Abrams

By shifting the debate from wishful thinking to sound economics, prospects rise for effective policy decisions now and in the future, and doing the debate right is as important as the policy itself.

Republicans' 4% Mortgage "Stimulus" Is Latest Ponzi Scheme

Ronald B. Robinson | Posted 03.08.2009 | Politics


Ronald B. Robinson

Does the Republican ploy to provide 4% home mortgages to boost the economy sound too good to be true? It is. Buyer Beware!

"Too Big To Fail": A Bailout Hoax

Ismael Hossein-zadeh | Posted 03.05.2009 | Politics


Ismael Hossein-zadeh

If "illiquidity is the core economic problem," as policy makers argue, why is then the government's injection of enormous amounts of liquidity failing to unfreeze the credit market?

Unemployment Takes the Bronze

Michael B. Laskoff | Posted 03.05.2009 | Business


Michael B. Laskoff

After death and divorce, the most likely source of grief for most people is caused by unemployment. You can survive if you follow the old military adage: "Embrace the suck."

Michelle Obama and the Covert Influence of First Ladies

Carl Sferrazza Anthony | Posted 03.02.2009 | Politics


Carl Sferrazza Anthony

As memories of Inauguration Day 2009 begin to fade in and the new administration ensues, speculation will only increase about how politically influential Michelle Obama will be as First Lady.

Current Recession Compared To Great Depression By Congressional Budget Office

McClatchy Washington Bureau | David Lightman | Posted 02.27.2009 | Politics


The nation's current recession is likely to be the longest since World War II, and by some measures could be the worst since the Great Depression, a n...

The Promise of Public Health

Amy L. Fairchild, Ph.D. and Ronald Bayer, Ph.D. | Posted 02.27.2009 | Politics


Amy L. Fairchild, Ph.D. and Ronald Bayer, Ph.D.

Like the provision of medical care to the ill, an effective health system -- which keeps children and adults from becoming sick in the first place -- depends on both vision and commitment.

The 25 People Responsible For The Global Financial Crisis

The Guardian | Julia Finch With Additional Reporting by Andrew Clarke and David Teather | Posted 02.25.2009 | Business


The worst economic turmoil since the Great Depression is not a natural phenomenon but a man-made disaster in which we all played a part. In the second...

Too Big to Succeed

John Standerfer | Posted 02.23.2009 | Business


John Standerfer

What we don't appear to understand yet is that no amount of money, time or regulation can possibly resolve this problem while a few banks continue to hold the entire nation hostage.

The Day the Earth Still Stood: What Will Obama Inherit?

Tom Engelhardt | Posted 02.20.2009 | Politics


Tom Engelhardt

We don't know what the world holds for us in the Obama years, but it's not likely to be pretty.

Reflections on Reconciliation: Paradox of Excess & Deprivation

Terry Leach | Posted 02.20.2009 | Business


Terry Leach

I wonder if Captain "Sully" Sullenberger's colleagues' pensions are secure. Somehow, I doubt it. Although airlines were the companies we used to loved to hate, airline employees are part of the family, too.

Obama: Follow the Philosophical Footsteps of Abraham

Leo W. Gerard | Posted 02.18.2009 | Politics


Leo W. Gerard

Lincoln's preservation of the union would not have been possible without his economic reform. It is the philosophy at the base of those achievements that must be the prototype for change in America now.

Obama or FDR: Whose Strategy Will Work Better?

Hoyt Hilsman | Posted 02.18.2009 | Politics


Hoyt Hilsman

One significant difference between the Roosevelt transition and that of Barack Obama is the swiftness with which the Obama transition team has moved to address the nation's economic crisis.

Living and Dying American

Stephen Herrington | Posted 02.13.2009 | Living


Stephen Herrington

Back then a typical Republican was to the left of the Clintons. Nixon was a transition. It took Reagan to really define the world in which we now live, in which merit is no longer of value.

Brazil Rebounds With Bossa Beat

Eric Ehrmann | Posted 02.13.2009 | World


Eric Ehrmann

In Brazil as in the US, culture plays a big role in how nations survive the slump. Known for beaches, beauties, rain forest and laid back music, Brazil's national motto is "Order and Progress."