What did we learn from the depression . Well investigate that with the help of economics analyst richard gill on economics usa. Hard times. Weve seen a lot of them over the years. 1932 and the years that followed were different. The Hoover Administration tried to popularize the word depression. They thought it a milder word that would soothe the american public. By 1932, hope was about gone. The depression was more than an economic problem. It was human calamity. Millions went hungry, some to starvation. Proud people begged on street corners asking for pennies to feed their children, for jobs that no longer existed. The economic devastation seemed total. Things couldnt possibly get worse, and yet they did. Over 4,000 banks failed. The value of stocks dropped from 89 billion to 15 billion. National income dropped. Investment, savings, consumption everything plummeted. 14 million people, 1 4 of the work force were without jobs. The agricultural economy, a refuge in earlier depressions, s
A visit to a modern Shopping Center yields a bewildering display of goods and services, the products of a free market. Whos to say this is what we want or what we need . Markets do they meet our needs . Economic analyst richard gill will help us examine that question on economics usa. Im david schoumacher. The American Economy the sum total of what goes on in shopping malls, car dealers, supermarkets, stock exchanges, 7elevens, and gas stations all around the country. Millions of buyandsell decisions everday, trillions of dollars worth every year. And those decisions affect every part of our lives. Who decides between a room with a view and a house in the suburbs . In our demand and supply economy, who demands and who supplies . 1945. World war ii was over. Millions of exgis came home, fell in love, got married, and started families. And there was one thing they all needed. When i got out of the service, i had a wife. We wanted a place to live. It was like looking for a needle in a hay
How much is a life worth . Wilderness or minerals . Guns or butter . Jobs or safety . We always face choices. Resources and scarcity. Whats economics all about . With the help of economic analyst richard gill, well examine that question on economics usa. Im david schoumacher. Whats economics all about . There have always been theoretical answers to that question, but reality complicates the most elegant theories. Economics usa is about theory and reality in 20thcentury amica, and how people and events have shaped economic decisions that affect our lives. Those decisions usually involve tradeoffs. In 1980, congress designated over 100 million acres of alaskan land as National Parks and wilderness areas. Why did Congress Make that decision . How much did it cost the nation . In 1867, when the United States purchased the territory of alaska from russia, the acquisition was derided as wasted money. A century later, after two gold rushes, alaska braced for another. The new gold was oil. Mil
Why was this mans paycheck half a Million Dollars a year . A visit to a modern Shopping Center yields a bewildering display of goods and services, the products of a free market. Whos to say this is what we want or what we need . Markets do they meet our needs . Economic analyst richard gill will help us examine that question on economics usa. Im david schoumacher. The American Economy the sum total of what goes on in shopping malls, car dealers, supermarkets stock exchanges, 7elevens, and gas stations all around the country. Millions of buyandsell decisions everday, trillions of dollars worth every year. And those decisions affect every part of our lives. Who decides between a room with a view and a house in the suburbs . In our demand and supply economy who demands and who supplies . 1945. World war ii was over. Millions of exgis came home fell in love, got married, and started families. And there was one thing they all needed. When i got out of the service i had a wife. We wanted a p
What is the Gross National product . With economic analyst richard gill, well explore that question on this edition of economics usa. Im David Schoumacher. These computer tapes at the bureau of Economic Analysis in washington document 50 years of americas Economic Growth. They provide access to the Accounting System known as gnp. When the United States faced its worst economic crisis, the Great Depression, no such measuring tool existed, until this report went to the senate. Copies of National Income, 19291932 are scarce today, but back in 1934, it was very popular. 4,500 copies were sold in 8 months. The report was made by a team from the department of commerce when Congress Demanded more information. What was the Great Depression costing the American Economy . Led in part by the auto industry, the economy grew rapidly in the 1920s, generating more jobs, more income, and more free time. As long as the factories were humming, there was little concern about how well the nation was doing