How bad is the economy?
If you listen to the media, we have been living in the worse economic conditions since the Great Depression. Some will say that this economy is worse than the Great Depression. As with most everything you can’t believe everything you hear.
Not Participating in the Recession!
Recently, Dave Ramsey hosted the Town Hall For Hope telecast. According to statistics from Dave Ramsey, “over 1 million people in more than 6,000 host locations joined together to get real answers about the economy”.
The goal of the event was to calm fears and bring a dose of reality to the ‘chicken little’ mentality that permeates the media. A lot of bloggers have commented on Dave’s call for people to ‘not participate in the recession’. By this he meant that we shouldn’t allow the media to drive us into a state of fear and relinquish control over our own decisions and lives. If you check out the Town Hall For Hope website, you will find a lot of quotes from people that have decided not to listen to the media and are determined to live their lives making wise financial decisions and not allow the ‘crisis mentality’ to force them into a bad decision.
Below are some pretty revealing statistics regarding just how bad things have been over the last several recessions, compared to where we are today.
The Great Depression and Recent Recessions:
- 1938–40: Unemployment grew to over 17%, the Stock Market dropped 89%, and bread lines were real; executives didn’t fly Gulfstreams to Washington, D.C. looking for bailouts. (Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970. U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1975)
- 1974: The Stock Market dropped 50%, gas lines snaked around the block, and inflation became stagflation, i.e. inflation in a stagnant economy.
- 1982: Inflation was over 10%, unemployment was over 10%, and the interest rate reached 17% on home mortgages. (www.miseryindex.us; Freddie Mac)
- 2009: Unemployment is at 8.5%, there is no inflation, and the home mortgage rate is 4 3/8%. The Stock Market dropped 57%, but it has recently risen from a low of 6400 to over 8000. (U.S. Department of Labor; www.usinflationcalculator.com; Yahoo Finance)
What about you? Are you being sucked into the ’sky is falling’ mantra or are you looking for opportunities to prepare your family for the future? Remember, the rise and fall of the market is normal and the best thing we can do is remain calm. The United States is still the greatest country in the world, we have dealt with adversity before and have always succeeded. This time is no different, with patience we will right this ship also.
Related Websites - Keeping Your Money Safe in Economic Turmoil
- Obama submits a $3.83T budget with massive deficits to Congress
- Real Estate Investments - Good Idea or Bad Idea?
- Internet Network Marketing in A Bad Economy Part 3
- 7 Questions to Ask Yourself to Create an Effective Social Media Marketing Strategy
StumbleUpon
Great post!
We’ve heard so much about the poor state of the economy. It’s good to take a step back and see that, as a country, we’ve been through worse and we have prevailed.
In ANY economy, there are opportunities to prosper. The stock market figures that you have quoted, to me, signal a great buying opportunity. You have great, profitable companies that are trading at a discount.
Christians should prosper because they are less motivated by fear and greed. The bible has a bunch of examples of those who have prospered in adverse times.
Hang in there and keep pluggin away. You will reap a harvest if you don’t give up! (Gal. 6:9)