Friday, November 14, 2008
Period 2: The 1920s
What did you see in the film about the 1920s that is similar to the economic problems we are facing today? What do you think the government should be doing to ensure that we don't end up in an economic depression? Make one reflective comment and after everyone has commented, then respond to at least one other student's opinion. The Post will close at the end of the period.
Mr. Gallagher
32 comments:
The film about the 1920s showed how much the nation was affected by the stock market crash. Companies began to shut down, along with banks. This caused people to lose the money they'd been saving. This is similar to what is happening today because as we all know, a couple of weeks ago, the stock market crashed and about $3 trillion was lost. This affected people that have accounts in banks like Sovereign. I know people who actually lost a couple of hundred dollars from their bank accounts.
In order to not end up in an economic depression, I think the government should lower tax payments and gas prices! Because of high gas prices, people are refusing to buy cars that take in a lot of gas which, at the moment, is affecting car companies. If car companies begin to shut down, the companies that they buy their supplies from will also be affected and so on.
- Ilsi D.
In the film, like Ilsi stated, there was a decline in the stock market. Many people lost their jobs and money from the economic downfall. This is similar to what is going on today. For example, there's not a lot of money out there therefore not alot of people are spending causing businesses to fall.
I think that the government should decrease the prices of necessary goods for the people such as gas like Ilsi said along with many other key products of servival.
- Jillisa S.
A smilliarity between the 1920s and today is the fct that people go into a state of panic. When people panic things become even worse than the situation already is. In the 1920s, people invested even more money in the failing stock, money which they end up never being able to pay back. Today, people have closed their bank accounts because they think that the economy is so unstable that they should keep the money in their own possessions. In doing this, banks get less business and money, and our economy fails even more.
- Hannah R.
The 1920s were the period in American history when Americans fell into the deadly trap of credit and debt. Today is is just as much apart of our culture to buy things we do not have the money for as those on installment plans did in the 1920s. It is this way of life that sucked us into the Great Depression and has come back again right now. In order to fix the problems, i think the governemtn needs to put strick limits on how much a person can buy on credit. too many people are being forclosed on because of not paying back loans. strick limits will keep a market crash from happening. i agree with Ilsie that the consumer rate has to increase in order to help our situation. the fact that people aren't buying is why the big three in the US automotive industry can't breath.
Ultimately, I find that we are in the midst of a great depression that mirrors the great depression of the 1930s. Consumer confidence in banks quickly left the people as money vanished from their savings. I find that the times are incredibely simliar and hopefully, the governemnt won't make the same mistakes that Hoover made in trying to bring the country out of the depression.
Victor Z.
I believe that the foreclosures in the housing market are similar to the people in the 1920s buying stock on margin. This shows that when people are buying a house today they are buying a house they will not be able to afford and will not be able to pay that money in the long run. The same thing happened when the stock crashed because people bought stock without putting in money and they received it when they got the money. Then it happened with many people doing it and the stock market couldn't pay the people when they cashed out so it forced the market to crash. This is similar because the housing market is in free fall right now.
Matt D
I think the similarities between the 1920's and present day are mostly economic. In the 20's people spent freely on new inventions and big houses and expensive cars. This free spending boosted the economy initially, but when it came time to paying for these things on credit, people realized that they couldnt afford what they had bought and were spending outside of their limits. This caused the economy to crash. This is similar to present day where people were buying things, specifically houses, that they couldn't afford which led to banks failing. Honestly, I believe that the economy is in such a mess that I have no ideas as to what the government can do to fix this problem.
Kyle D
The economics problems that we are facing today, share connections to the great depression and the stock market crash of 1929. The main connection they share is the credit crisis which destroyed the stock market in the late 20s early 30s and is now destroying the loaning industry disrupting the entire flow of the American economy. The government should tighten its regulation of the economy for a short period of time and write new legislation that restricts deregulation. The government should also construct legislation that will allow for more oversight on Wall Street and the banking industry.
In the film about the 1920s, the economic low that they faced is similar to our current economic standing today in America. Due to societal panic, many people chose to withdraw from the stock market and additionally to only purchase necessities, pushing the economic depression even lower. This same routine is occuring today, where many families are getting out of the stock market, and also many people are facing unemployment. Although there is not as high a degree of unemployment as there was during the 1920s, it is possible for the percentage to increase with a greater economic depression in our society if this crisis continues.
The government should be aiding companies facing foreclosure and providing sufficient welfare for the unemployed. I agree with Ilsi that the government should attempt to decrease the cost of gasoline, which is in effect right now. With lower gas prices, people will be able to purchase cars and keep the car corporations in business, unlike the threat that the Great Depression had on the existence of well-known car companies.
The economic problems of the 1920s are strikingly similar to the problems that we are currently facing. During the 1920s, the major problem with the economy was that people were buying stocks from money that they didnt really have. Therefore, this caused chaos in the economic world. People began to spend money on things such as cars and houses. At first this allowed the econonmy to flourish but once they had to pay for these things, they realized that they didnt have enough money on their credit. This led to the stock market crash and eventually the Great Depression. I agree with Kyle, the economy is such a mess right now that I dont have any ideas as to what could fix the problem.
Dan F
Many events that occurred in the film about the 1920s seem to be erupting back up today. Because of the economic scare that was being presented at the time people were buying less and not putting money into stocks. Many industries were then forced to stop production which then brought out no profit which later led to massive unemployment. We can easily see this today with the automotive industry. Because of the state of the economy in today's world people aren't buying cars so the automotive industry has been taking a big hit lately. As the days go on more and more issues with the economy seem to be presented to us and more obstacles are needed to be overcome in order to make our economy stable again.
- Saqib Z.
The economics problems that we are facing today, share connections to the great depression and the stock market crash of 1929. The main connection they share is the credit crisis which destroyed the stock market in the late 20s early 30s and is now destroying the loaning industry disrupting the entire flow of the American economy. The government should tighten its regulation of the economy for a short period of time and write new legislation that restricts deregulation. The government should also construct legislation that will allow for more oversight on Wall Street and the banking industry.
-Mike L.
Nation was affected by the stock market crash. All the companys started to shut down, along with the banks. People lost their money in the banks... The government should lower tax and gas.
Watching the video about the 1920s, I realized that many variables involved in our present state of economic decline mimic those that occured in the 1920s. For example, Americans were recently spending a lot of money without having proper funds to support such a lavish lifestyle. People would buy fancy homes and cars and other material items on loans and with credit cards. In the 1920s, Americans were spending money they didnt have as well on new items such as washing machines and vaccuums. In both cases the stock market is/was showing significant decline and struggle. Another similarity would be the involvement and recovery from war. Both instances have very similar circumstances.
The film of the 1920s, showed how the economy was "booming" and then it took a turn for the worst.It seems as though the people buying the stock were very careless of how they went about theyre money and in consequence lost it all. The way we can ensure that our country doesnt do the same thing, is try to educate the people to invest and use theyre money wisely, as too prevent an economic downfall like the 1920s stock market crash.
I agree about one thing Ilsi said about lowering the gas prices more. Now the Government has to bail out the car companies and theyre debts.But i disagree with it too the government keeps spending the peoples money which could go to something more useful. They figure whats a billion here or there...WRONG theyre screwing us even more in to the ground.
~Tiana Lasorsa
Nation was affected by the stock market crash. All the companys started to shut down, along with the banks. People lost their money in the banks... The government should lower tax and gas.
Effecting car companies because people don't want to buy cars that spend to much gas... US is falling apart because of economy
Andrey Golenko
(Aka- Whyte Russian )
Similar to the 1920's, it is evident that we are currently following the trends of that depression. I think that if we study the events of the Great Depression, we can successfully overcome the current economic crisis at hand.
In the film about the 1920's and 1930's, i noticed some economic problems that paralled with the ones we are experiencing today. In October 1929, the stock market crashed. And again in October 1008, the stock market crashed. In the 1920's, consumers were buying things that they didn't need and couldn't afford, so they went into debt and they eventually went broke and their houses got foreclosed. Today, people are buying houses that they cannot afford, and they are also getting foreclosed. I'm not an expert on our economy, but maybe lowering the prices on products in high demand, like gas maybe, and that would make it available for more people to buy.
Colleen H.
Like Hannah said, another reason causing such depressions would be the state of panic that the nation throws itself into. The people of the nation begin withdrawing from banks and selling all of their stock, which, rather than helping the economy, only hurls it further into such a depression.
the economic crisis in the 1920s was far worse than what we facing rite now. this doesnt mean we not gettin ther, everyday we hear bout the economy failling ever more than the previous day.
Hannah has a point on the fact that the more people panic the further in we deepin our selves into the hole. if eveyrone believe that the economy is to crash and stop spending thier money, then the ecomy will get even worse wiht them not spending or using their money.
Kevin H. KhKc
i think that the situation in the movie about the great depression is almost similar to the economic situation that our country is going through right now. the government should try their hardest to stop history from repeating itself and stop our country from going into a economic depression. i agree with britany murphy when she says that the government could be more strict about who takes out loans and things like that because then that way money just wont be handed out for all sorts of reasons.
__melissa brady
In the film about the 1920's is similar to the economic problems we are facing today because people were spending money they didn't have. Also during the 1920's new forms of financing appeared, and people were spending and then when it came down to paying money back at the end of the month, they could not afford it. This caused such financial trouble because people were in debt and everyone was spending money they didn't have at the same time. This situation was causing a financial crisis. I think the government should be more strict on financials options such as loans, credits, etc. So then people who can't afford to pay the monthly payments, don't bring down the economy.
-Brittany Murphy
In the film on the 1920s it shows how Americans fell into the Great Depression. A lot of the things that were being done then are we are having economic problems now. People back in the 1920s were spending a lot of money that they didn't have on cars and houses. Today prices became higher with being done today and that is why things such as gasoline. Americans were spending a lot of money on that or some would just stop bying cars because it got too expensive. The government needs to watch whats happenens in the past because it seems to be happening now.
- Kyla M.
Matt V.
The 1920s is similar to the economic problems we are facing today. They are similar, because we are in a lot of debt and at the moment don't have a way to get out of it. Today it is very hard to find a job. because a lot of businesses are laying off employees. Car dealerships are going out of business, because everyone is saving their money. The stock market recently dropped a lot and that is very similar to what happened in the 1920s.
In the 1920s, People were dealing with a struggle between old and new values. Prohibition was an idea that people tried to enforce but the "new generation" challenged this with the Flappers and speakeasies. In today's society, there are many conservative ideas that are being challenged. Technology in today's society is something that shapes our lives and how we react. In the 1920's, new technologies for the household changed the way people lived.
The economic crisis in the 1920s is very similar to the economic issues we are struggling with today. The stockmarket has crashed because of people investing on false pretenses.
In order to avoid an economic depression we should look back into history and learn what the government did wrong and try to not make the same mistakes.
-Clarissa S
I agree with what Brittany M. said about what the government should be doing. They need to watch how Americans spend money. They are trying to make the country better but it's not getting any better if they let us fall into another depression like in the 1920s.
- Kyla M.
This film showed economic depression caused by buying on credit. Our socity is currently worried about falling into a depression and it too will be the product of spending on credit. Banks are struggling very serriously now just as they were in the 1920's. In both times, companies advertise and convince the public that they need luxury items. The majority of people cannot afford all the things they want. So they buy on credit.
In order to avoid an economic depression, the government sould stop printing money and bailing companies out. It looks like a lot of jobs are going to be lost, but the government can at least do its best to keep the value of the dollar up. I think this will allow for a faster recovery.
Zack L.
I also agree with Tiana in that we need to educat people to invest their money wisely. Even though it happened once in the 1920s, people still didn't learn from the mistakes back then. Hopefully this time they might see what NOT to do with their money to decrease the chances of this happening for a third time in the future.
- Hannah R.
I agree with what Ilsi and Jillisa suggested about what we should do to ensure that we don't end up in another economic depression. They said tht we should lower gas prices, and neccesary items. I feel that this would help people and make the people feel secure and beable to put their trust back in the economy and banks.
-Brittany Murphy
Rob,
You bring up a interesting idea that the government should limit that amount of money people can spend on credit. I am shocked that the banks have no been able to do this successfully on their own. They have to know that if people cant pay their loans back, then they are in trouble. Now the banks are struggling to survive, but it seems they have put themselves in this position. Sure they were hit by some unexpected economic conditions, but it just seems that they didnt prepare themselves. They should no be bailed out. I think that a lot of companies are going to fail because they did not practice good buisness ways. This is what they brought on themselves and I dont think it will cripple out economy unless we keep bailing them out and ruin the value of the dollar.
Zack L.
I agree with Matt V. that the root of the problem is the debt crisis and unemployment. That was the problem back then and now today we face the same problem. Hopefully, however, we can avoid and another depression.
-mike L.
I disagree with lauren that the government should be bailing people out of this situation. If you help out those who are going into foreclosure it only promotes having things with out the money to back it up. The government does need to aid in some way, but simply supplying this money is not the solution.
-Clarissa Savage
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