U.S. President Barack Obama stated there has not been a financial depression in America, thanks to his record spending, but he is incorrect. Aspects of the financial crisis automatically place it in the category of a depression.
More Americans lost their homes during the 2008 financial crisis, that is ongoing, than during the Great Depression. Real estate tracking agencies and banks repeatedly reiterated that a number of financially derogatory records had been set during the current crisis.
Unemployment hit record highs in a number of U.S. cities (not all), surpassing Great Depression figures. America's national debt is the highest it has ever been in history, once again, surpassing Great Depression levels, even when adjusted for inflation.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama
Now, logic dictates, if the Great Depression was classified a "depression" as its name implies and several aspects of this modern day financial crisis have surpassed it, wouldn't the current financial free fall be a "depression" by default.
All these calamities happened under former President George W. Bush, due to his reckless war spending and inattention to Corporate America. Then, it carried over into Obama's tenure, leaving a mammoth mess for him to clean up. Regrettably, President Obama has exacerbated the current crisis via overspending.
And, if you want to get technical, the dictionary defines an economic depression as, "A period marked by slackening of business activity, widespread unemployment, falling prices and wages" and I think we can all agree that has happened between 2008 to 2010 and will continue if not properly corrected.
Side Bar: *light bulb* Maybe I should have just quoted the dictionary to begin with, instead of writing that long, drawn out article.
