As the winter weather worsens in the United States, the economy has seen a downturn. The first article from GMA News, explains how retail sales across the nation have lowered by 0.4% in a month, which may not seem like much over 30 days, but with sales down and weather taking workdays away, more people are applying for unemployment benefits. A second article from US News suggests the economy may not do well in the future and that unemployment may increase (similar to the GMA article). The final article from The Washington Post says over the past five years during the Great Recession, even though many jobs were lost and the stocks were low, more people are earning better college degrees and more are working as new jobs are being created. These current events about the economy and the recession are very similar to the events of the Great Depression in America during the 30’s and 40’s. The first article corresponds to the Dust Bowl of the 30’s, and how retail sales and businesses suffered due to the weather. Many were out of work as a result of the poor agricultural markets. The second article can also connect to the events at the beginning of the Depression, as many Americans had money in stocks, but lost most of what they had when the markets crashed. Towards the end of the Depression stock prices improved and more investment occurred. This helped the economy rebound. The final article is also similar in that although many back in the thirties were hit hard, many worked harder to get back on their feet and part of this process was attending college and getting an education. Soldiers returning from the War in the 1940’s continued the education trend which led to the improvement of the American economy.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/348396/economy/business/us-economy-cold-weather-depresses-retail-sales-in-january
ReplyDeletehttp://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2014/02/13/us-stock-futures-fall-after-unemployment-data
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/02/04/the-great-recession-was-terrible-but-it-did-make-us-smarter/
-Connor McMenamin
As the winter weather worsens in the United States, the economy has seen a downturn. The first article from GMA News, explains how retail sales across the nation have lowered by 0.4% in a month, which may not seem like much over 30 days, but with sales down and weather taking workdays away, more people are applying for unemployment benefits. A second article from US News suggests the economy may not do well in the future and that unemployment may increase (similar to the GMA article). The final article from The Washington Post says over the past five years during the Great Recession, even though many jobs were lost and the stocks were low, more people are earning better college degrees and more are working as new jobs are being created. These current events about the economy and the recession are very similar to the events of the Great Depression in America during the 30’s and 40’s. The first article corresponds to the Dust Bowl of the 30’s, and how retail sales and businesses suffered due to the weather. Many were out of work as a result of the poor agricultural markets. The second article can also connect to the events at the beginning of the Depression, as many Americans had money in stocks, but lost most of what they had when the markets crashed. Towards the end of the Depression stock prices improved and more investment occurred. This helped the economy rebound. The final article is also similar in that although many back in the thirties were hit hard, many worked harder to get back on their feet and part of this process was attending college and getting an education. Soldiers returning from the War in the 1940’s continued the education trend which led to the improvement of the American economy.
Delete-Connor McMenamin