great depression

As expected, President Obama reappointed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to another term today today, noting in remarks delivered in Martha’s Vineyard that Bernanke led the nation, and the world, through one of the worst fiscal crises it has ever faced, Bloomberg reports.
“As an expert on the causes of the Great Depression, I’m sure Ben [...]

What is it with Paul Krugman, anyway? The Nobel economist with the dour outlook is becoming the most unlikely of pop icons. First, there was, “Hey Paul Krugman,” a ditty praising his virtues, especially compared with those of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, that flew around the blogosophere. Now, via Calculated Risk, comes “The Krugman Blues,” [...]

One potentially upbeat aspect of a recession is that it keeps families together, writes marriage expert Andrew Cherlin today in The New York Times. Couples are reluctant to split up when finances are tight, so households that might otherwise break up remain intact. That was one lesson of the Great Depression, Cherlin says.
We tend [...]

Obama administration officials have been pushing cautious optimism lately, while touting any glimmers of hope for the economy. But some new numbers out today unfortunately do little to justify any optimism. The economy shrank much more rapidly than expected during the first quarter — by 6.1 percent — turning in its worst performance in five [...]

Do you love Politico? Sure, we all do. And one of the best ways to read the paper is to read TWI a few weeks earlier. For example, if you were reading TWI 10 weeks ago, you learned that Republicans on the Hill were treating “The Forgotten Man,” the revisionist history of the Great Depression [...]

The godfather of paleo-conservatism, a man who ran against President George W. Bush in 2000 and endorsed him in 2004, unleashes the fury against the ex-president’s economic record.
The only relevant comparison is to Herbert Hoover… Beginning and ending in recession, the Bush presidency added a net of 407,000 private sector jobs over eight years, less [...]

The classic 1985 film Brewster’s Millions is strangely analogous to the tale playing out in Washington these days as lawmakers — and President-elect Barack Obama — draft plans for an enormous spending bill to buoy the sinking economy.
You remember the story: Monty Brewster (Richard Pryor) is forced to spend $30 million in 30 days in [...]

President-elect Obama’s big economic speech today details all the problems the economy faces, and he predicts dire consequences if the government doesn’t act now – and in a big way. If nothing is done, Obama warns, the recession could linger for years. It’s all part of his effort to drum up support for his massive [...]

Franklin Roosevelt knew the Great Depression offered an opportunity to do more than rescue a sick economy. It was a unique chance to pursue a higher purpose for government — to make life less risky for future generations. If Roosevelt is the standard, Obama will be judged not just on how he deals with the economic crisis, but on how he uses it.

Not only would new investment in neglected road, bridge and other infrastructure strengthen the country’s structural backbone, experts argue, it would replace lost jobs and help the country climb out of the current recession.