I can't help but think about what the pundits said at the start of the Great Depression. Here's the opinion of a respected economist in 1930, shortly after the stock market crash:
After the collapse of the
Florida real estate boom in 1927 the public turned with one
accord to stock speculation... This bubble burst in turn in
October 1929, and, after a short period of painful
readjustment, the country once more settled down to earnest
industry. In order to avoid the consequences of a period of
depression President Hoover summoned conferences of private
corporations and governmental bodies to carry out
construction work and building operations, thus helping to
provide employment for the three million men who were
reported to be out of work in January 1930. The Federal
Reserve Board also contributed toward stabilizing and
steadying business by their discount policy. This
experience seems to show that while the fluctuations of the
business cycle have not been altogether eliminated, their
violence may be materially mitigated by wiser and more
far-sighted policies on the part both of private business
and of the government. (Bogart, Ernest Ludlow: "Economic
History of the American People," c. 1930, by Longman's,
Green, and Co., New York, NY)
Hmmm. Real estate bust, check. Decline in savings, double-check. Volatile stock market, check. Assurances that government efforts and private businesses will fix everything with their "earnest industry" and the Fed discount policy....
Uh, feeling better now?
Me neither. But there's no point throwing up our hands and quitting. When the going gets tough, the tough get simple. So here are some simple moves to make right now:
1) Live below your means! You'll need your money now to:
- Build a savings cushion.
- Pay off high-interest debt before it gets higher.
- Buy food to store, because it's going to be expensive.
The purpose of this brand new site is to provide as much information about how regular American citizens can weather this economic crisis as painlessly as possible. I'll add more about the hows and whys as I build more on this site and get more wonderful feedback from my readers.