I’ve been told as recently as this weekend that, despite what I’ve heard, this is still not as bad as the 1981 recession (I am not old enough to remember it), but the March unemployment numbers beg to differ…
Change in Payroll for Recent Recessions
Yes, there were other negatives in the early ’80s, inflation, super-high interest rates, etc. but it wasn’t a financial crisis and it wasn’t global. And that is what Eichengreen (UC-Berkley) & O’Rourke (Trinity College) assert when they call this a depression in their article on VOX… when you look at the global picture, this is as bad as 1929. They hope the difference in the policy response will mean we don’t re-live the 1930s in their entirety.
One final thought:
Compulsive optimism, otherwise known as grasping at straws, is habitual for some economists, especially if they are selling public policy or common stock. But it is also dangerous, destroying credibility and to discouraging action. Repress it. – James K. Galbraith
And I though that economics was called the dismal science…
Chart from Justin Fox at Time
-kc
