Preview

Fiscal and Monetary Policies During the 2008 Recession in America

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
980 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Fiscal and Monetary Policies During the 2008 Recession in America
2008 Recession in America
“It is not about how hard you fall, but how you get up and keep going.” Economic recession may be a natural phenomenon in the world’s economies. Every market has its peaks and falls, definitely the United States of America has hers.
In 2008, USA experienced another tragic downfall when her market went down and unemployment rate charged up. Millions of workers lost their jobs; from the young, the old, the whites, Asians, Latinos, both men and women. Distress filled every household as prices rose and income fell. The whole country was in turmoil back then.
This event had placed the policymakers in nostalgia. The melancholic memory of the Great Depression had them thinking of ways to battle the present state of their economy. Back then, classical economists believed that downturns in the economy would eventually correct themselves with little or even no intervention from the government. The Invisible Hand would work its magic, still even today.
However, the policymakers had to rethink this since they could not afford losing to recession once again. This in turn, led them to intervene by implementing fiscal and monetary policies.

In recessions, the economy lies in a period of poor industries and increasing unemployment rate. This scenario is very unhealthy for the country’s economy and people. Poor industries will lead to unemployment, low total output and in effect would cause inflation.
It is not right to view the effects all in quantitative approach; we should also see where these events would lead us. With high prices of commodities and low income or no work, distress among citizens is likely to occur. Dysfunctional community is then expected. People would then resort to committing crimes, for instance theft, in order to live their lives.
This is not ideal, and the government would not want that; the very reason why they make ways to ensure that they return the country’s economy back to stability: optimal employment rate and low

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The American economy rapidly slipped into recession and the onset of the Great Depression had now fully engulfed the United States. Millions of Americans lost their jobs and their homes. Additionally, The aftermath had left a widespread ripple effect throughout the world: leading to a…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Fed Policy during the 2007-2008 Recession. [Insert prompt].From 2007-2010, the Federal Reserve Bank (the Fed) used many practices that had never before been seen from the central bank of the United States.…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 2008, the economy took an unexpected turn that experts themselves was in disbelief when it happened. The U.S economy was headed in a recession. The first sign was when Bear Stearns put itself up for sale, one of the largest as well as the oldest investment company that survived the Great Depression, but when the mortgage crises started, Bear Stearns was having a hard time (Solomon, 2011). When this happened, experts knew this was a sign of trouble. A few months later, Lehman Brother that was established before the Civil War was leaving the market as well. With these types of companies leaving the market, this caused the government to bail out banks as well as big automakers. This also caused the Dow Jones Industrial average to drop below 10,000 for the first time in years and the Dow continued to drop in the year 2009 to 7,000. Due to all the changes, this also caused unemployment to reach an all record high of 8.5 percent.…

    • 270 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    A few years ago, the economy of the United States, like other great economies across the globe, experienced unprecedented negative growth that eventually culminated into one of the greatest recessions in the history of nations. In direct consequences, millions and millions of individual Americans and businesses unjustly suffered undue economic,…

    • 2361 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    “All of this has been caused in large by a complete lack of planning and a complete failure to understand the danger and signals that have been flying ever since the close of the World War” The Great Depression had shown its signs early on but people ignored them as they kept producing more than would be sold in hopes of finding buyers who would buy the goods for a higher price and acquire profits. The government interfered and would create a “partnership” not take over and control…

    • 643 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The United States have gone through some historical economic ups and downs, two of the most known and horrific slump being the Great Depression of the 1930’s and the Great Recession. Both, the Great Depression and the Great Recession, are characterized by bank failures, unemployment, economic decline, stock market crashes, price changes, and the Feds. They are both fallouts of the same economic phenomenon and are only different in a few minor respects. There were many reasons that caused the downturns.…

    • 1133 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ðuraškovic (2014) discussed both the Great Depression of the 1930’s and the most recent global economic crisis in 2008. According to Ðuraškovic (2014), the lessons learned in the Great Depression of the 1930’s set some standards and taught some important lessons which prepared for and help through the global economic crisis in 2008. To better understand the most recent economic crisis, this paper will summarize Ðuraškovic’s (2014) academic article.…

    • 425 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Us Recession

    • 899 Words
    • 4 Pages

    One of the indictors of a recession is the unemployment rate. The most recent recession was preceded by a time of steady economic growth, which was accompanied by employment growth. Prerecession unemployment rate hovered around 4-5%, which is historically and relatively low. Job growth was concentrated in three areas: education, health-care and housing related job. While education and health-care have been on a steady incline for years, the then booming housing market created most of the jobs in the housing industries. In December 2007, at the start of the recession the unemployment remained around 5 percent. By the end of the recession in 2009, that number had climbed to 9.5% and some states 10%. In September 2008, the economic downturn intensified when the economy was jolted by trouble in the nations finical system. In the aftermath of the turmoil, credit market constricted and banks tightened lending standers. The recession rapidly deepened and job losses spiked. The monthly job loses averaged 712,00 from October 2008 through March 2008. Historically, good producing industries experienced the largest decline in employment during a recession. The most recent recession followed suit, as manufacturing and constriction where of the hardest…

    • 899 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Historically, recessions have developed over time. This one seems to have developed overnight (Partilla).” This thought is thought to stress the fact that while recessions are at times rare, when they do occur they can have a devastating effect. A recession or economic downturn is defined as a period is temporary economic decline during in which trade and industrial activity are reduced. Economic recession is generally accompanied by a rise in unemployment, high inflation, and decline of the housing market. Otherwise known as “The Great Recession,” the recession in the United States from the year 2007 to 2009 negatively impacted the United States economy by significantly altering the US’s labor market, unemployment rate and recovery potential.…

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Recession of 2008 caused widespread panic and distress globally. Trillions of dollars were lost during this time. It was a frightening time for people because they were unsure of what was to come regarding their situations. These losses of money lead to a decrease in consumer spending, which decreased the GDP. This then invoked companies to lower salaries and cut large numbers of their employees. The huge loss of jobs made the unemployment rate skyrocket. All of these consequences of the Recession put many people under stress and lead to an increase in poverty in working class families. The documentary, Inside Job, covered the causes and consequences of the Recession in great depth. There are many underlying causes that lead to…

    • 373 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The economic depression that beset the United States and other countries in the 1930s was unique in its magnitude and its consequences. At the depth of the depression, in 1933, one American worker in every four was out of a job. In other countries unemployment ranged between 15 percent and 25 percent of the labor force. The great industrial slump continued throughout the 1930s, shaking the foundations of Western capitalism and the society based upon it. Economic Aspects President Calvin COOLIDGE had said during the long prosperity of the 1920s that "The business of America is business." Despite the seeming business prosperity of the 1920s, however, there were serious economic weak spots, a chief one being a depression in the agricultural sector. Also depressed were such industries as coal mining, railroads, and textiles. <br><br>Throughout the 1920s, U. S. banks had failed--an average of 600 per year--as had thousands of other business firms. By 1928 the construction boom was over. The spectacular rise in prices on the STOCK MARKET from 1924 to 1929 bore little relation to actual economic conditions. In fact, the boom in the stock market and in real estate, along with the expansion in credit (created, in part, by low-paid workers buying on credit) and high profits for a few industries, concealed basic problems. Thus the U. S. stock market crash that occurred in October 1929, with huge losses, was not the fundamental cause of the Great Depression, although the crash sparked, and certainly marked the beginning of, the most traumatic economic period of modern times. By 1930, the slump was apparent, but few people expected it to continue; previous financial PANICS and depressions had reversed in a year or two. The usual forces of economic expansion had vanished, however. <br><br>Technology had eliminated more industrial jobs than it had created; the supply of goods continued to exceed demand; the world market system was basically unsound. The high tariffs of the…

    • 1354 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    ECON 410 Final Paper

    • 2384 Words
    • 8 Pages

    So you might ask yourself, what exactly is a recession? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, characteristics of a recession include: a general slowdown in economic activity, a downturn in the business cycle, as well as a reduction in the amount of goods and services produced and sold. The official arbiter of U.S. recessions, the National Bureau of Economic Research, states that there has been a total of ten recessions between 1948 and 2011. The most recent financial crisis began in December of 2007, this is considered to be the worst financial disruption since the Great Depression of 1929 – 1933. Although these recessions were different in character, both crises were affected by bank failures that led to large declines in the economy. This last recession known as the Great Recession lasted from December of 2007 to June of 2009, the U.S. economy has yet to return to pre-recession economic times but it has seen an increase in economic growth.…

    • 2384 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The necessary change in taxes and government spending. The effect on aggregate demand. GDP. and employment.…

    • 652 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Government Fiscal Policy. Between 2007 and 2009 the U.S. economy experienced a severe recession. In an effort to stimulate the economy, the federal government passed a stimulus package. Explain the federal government’s use of fiscal policy (the stimulus) to promote growth and employment. Support your ideas with concepts found in the assigned reading. Include the following in your response:…

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    An expansion in fiscal policy (i.e. an increase in government spending) adds directly to AD but if financed by higher government borrowing, this may result in higher interest rates and lower investment. The net result (by adjusting the…

    • 914 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics