Is the comparison between the financial crisis and the Great Depression apt, or overstated? The Council on Foreign Relations examined that question on Monday in all-day symposium culminating with a panel titled: “What do the 1930s tell us about now?” In distilling the arguments of four rather different eggheads, it’s apparent that the comparison to the 1930s is a bit of a stretch. For starters, our situation is far less dire. As University of Pennsylvania economics professor Harold Cole pointed out, “The difference is a factor of ten.” Additionally, Americans are different now. Today’s citizens lack that Depression-era feeling of shared sacrifice, said Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter. In 2009, it’s every portfolio for itself. Still, there are some important lessons to discern from the Depression.
- 4/2/2009
- Vanity Fair
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