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Originally Posted by dice  Everyone's talking about stockpiling food, universities closing down, Panasonic laying off 10% of their employees, travel companies boosting their rates by 20%... |
In my opinion, these things can't even be compared to things people suffered through in the Great Depression. The primary difference is that people expect so much more now. If people had to live today like people lived 100 years ago they would think it was the worst possible torture. The people who lived through the Great Depression were not concerned with Universities closing down or travel companies increasing their fees; they were concerned with surviving.
I think that what we may see is a correction, similar to what has happened in the real estate market, etc. People have been overspending, living excessive lifestyles, etc for a long time. Maybe the depression that people are predicting will be nothing more than a correction which forces people to tone down their lifestyle to a more reasonable level.
I am not a fan of the government trying to solve all of our problems. In fact, I believe by doing this the government has created most of our current problems. Having said that, however, I don't think that the federal government will allow the situation to get as bad as during the Great Depression. Think about how much money is being wasted on the War on Terrorism and the War on Drugs. That money could easily be diverted to social programs to ensure that American citizens can at the very least have a warm place to sleep and food to eat. If it gets too bad, there are other, more worthwhile programs, that could be suspended for this purpose (such as alternate energy programs, arts programs, historic preservation, National Parks, etc). I would really hate to see those programs suspended, but it would be better than seeing people starve to death.