Most people are aware of the dire economic climate in this country, that is, unless they have been living in a bubble; however, many people do not understand exactly what happened to cause a once booming economy to
plunge into a crash-and-burn tailspin. Moreover, they wonder who exactly is to blame.
According to David Boder of the Washington Post Writers Group (2008), the current situation is "the greatest crisis to confront the American economic system in three-quarters of a century" (p. 7B), which, of course, is a direct reference to when the stock market crashed in 1929, initiating an era that later became known as The Great Depression. Of course, since the world's economies are even more closely intertwined today, the fallout from an American financial collapse will not only once again have global ramifications but also, this time around, precipitate a similar financial collapse in far more countries than was the case during the Depression.
When it comes to what caused this catastrophe, however, there were several factors, not the least of which was a consumer-driven capitalist society barreling along in overdrive for the past 50 years. Yet, the economy's current dizzying freefall reportedly began with the implosion of the housing and real estate industries, a situation created by banks that were willing to grant just about anyone—as long as he or she was breathing—a substantial loan, regardless of the applicant's credit rating or ability to repay said loan. And considering the scarcity of oversight in the banking industry, when other countries maintain that "lax American regulation is to blame for the economic decline in the first place," one cannot help but find this argument plausible (Rugaber, 2009, p. A1).
According to David Boder of the Washington Post Writers Group (2008), the current situation is "the greatest crisis to confront the American economic system in three-quarters of a century" (p. 7B), which, of course, is a direct reference to when the stock market crashed in 1929, initiating an era that later became known as The Great Depression. Of course, since the world's economies are even more closely intertwined today, the fallout from an American financial collapse will not only once again have global ramifications but also, this time around, precipitate a similar financial collapse in far more countries than was the case during the Depression.
When it comes to what caused this catastrophe, however, there were several factors, not the least of which was a consumer-driven capitalist society barreling along in overdrive for the past 50 years. Yet, the economy's current dizzying freefall reportedly began with the implosion of the housing and real estate industries, a situation created by banks that were willing to grant just about anyone—as long as he or she was breathing—a substantial loan, regardless of the applicant's credit rating or ability to repay said loan. And considering the scarcity of oversight in the banking industry, when other countries maintain that "lax American regulation is to blame for the economic decline in the first place," one cannot help but find this argument plausible (Rugaber, 2009, p. A1).
The American Economic Crisis
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Is Bill Clinton & the Democratic Party Responsible for the Current Econo...
A look at whether Bill Clinton is responsible for the current economic crisis
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