The world’s rich countries are now conducting a dangerous experiment.
They are repeating an economic policy out of the 1930s
— starting to cut spending and raise taxes before a recovery is
assured — and hoping today’s situation is different enough to assure
a different outcome.
The parallels to 1937 are not reassuring. From 1933 to 1937, the United States economy
expanded more than 40 percent, even surpassing its 1929 high. But the recovery was still
not durable enough to survive Roosevelt’s spending cuts and new Social Security tax. In
1938, the economy shrank 3.4 percent, and unemployment spiked.
We are left to hope that we have absorbed just enough of the 1930s lesson. » The full New York Times article – By David Leonhardt – Published: June 29, 2010.
- The New York Times – Learning Network – Examining Key World Economies and Comparing Their Current Volatility -
Overview | Students review key economic terms and ideas necessary for understanding world economies. They then research the economies of countries in the Group of 8 (20) and present how their economies have changed over the past five years and how the relationships among these countries affect each other in light of world events. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson. - The New York Times – Learning Network – A Plan for Recovery-
Overview | Students examine the “who, what, where, when, why and how” of the proposed stimulus plan for the U.S. economy; they then write their own proposal outlining how stimulus funds might benefit their community. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson. - The New York Times – Learning Network – Comparing the 1929 Stock Market Crash to Today’s Wall Street Crisis –
Overview | Students use resources from The New York Times to compare the circumstances under which the Great Depression came about to the circumstances of the current economic crisis. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.
