Depression in the US, My ass.

[JJacksET4]

Quote from morganist:


Clothes last a long time and they would have them from the prosperous period.

Ok, fine, but here are some more thoughts/questions about pic 1:

1. If you own a suit, does that mean you really wear it (including a tie, etc.) to a soup kitchen? Wouldn't just a plain shirt do? Not to mention all the guys are wearing their hats, and in the background there is a business advertising Sewing machines and Vacuum cleaners - there must have been some business for them to be there. The fact they are wearing suits, etc. implies to me that many of these guys actually had jobs.

2. Where are the women/kids in that pic? Did the guys get enough food to take some home with them or what? Was it that the guys made enough to feed their families but then they had nothing for themselves? Was the time of this picture after 5:00 PM or around lunch? Were the kids in school - where were the wifes?

3. Wasn't anyone capable of growing their own food (and I realize problems with big city life, but it can still be done.).

JJacksET4

 

[denner]

Quote from JJacksET4:

Ok, fine, but here are some more thoughts/questions about pic 1:

1. If you own a suit, does that mean you really wear it (including a tie, etc.) to a soup kitchen? Wouldn't just a plain shirt do? Not to mention all the guys are wearing their hats, and in the background there is a business advertising Sewing machines and Vacuum cleaners - there must have been some business for them to be there. The fact they are wearing suits, etc. implies to me that many of these guys actually had jobs.

2. Where are the women/kids in that pic? Did the guys get enough food to take some home with them or what? Was it that the guys made enough to feed their families but then they had nothing for themselves? Was the time of this picture after 5:00 PM or around lunch? Were the kids in school - where were the wifes?

3. Wasn't anyone capable of growing their own food (and I realize problems with big city life, but it can still be done.).

JJacksET4

Men wore suits to baseball games in the 1930's, it was a cultural thing back in those days. It's nothing to do with joblessness. The unemployment rate in the 1930s was 25+%, so yes many men who wore suits were without employment.

Women were stay at home heads of the household. If they did any work, it would have been likely within the confines of the house. They weren't around because the men were the "breadwinners". People actually had pride back in those days, it wasn't an "entitlement society".

Ever heard of the "dust bowl" in the Great Depression. Yes, some people did grow their own food, but another aspect of the Depression were that many families lost their farms. To combat that, communities would rally around to try and save the farms from being auctioned off.

Shit, did it ever occur to you to actually do a bit of due diligence before you opened your pie hole? You seem to think the Great Depression was "blown out of proportion" or something?

 

[the1]

1. Pic #1 is likely a line for a job interview. Been to a job fair lately? Looks exactly like that. Yes, these guys had jobs with the important word being <i>had</i>.

2. There's plenty of women in that pic and they are out buying gifts for their kids to give to Santa

3. Food doesn't grow so well in the dead of winter. I'm sure many people did grow their own food because a lot of folks were fresh off the late 1800's at that time where they did grow their own food. Easier said than done though.

It comes down to this. If you're unemployed the unemployment rate is 100% and I know a lot of people who have been facing a 100% unemployment rate for more than a year and some more than 2 years. Think about not being able to find a job for more than 2 years.

Quote from JJacksET4:

Ok, fine, but here are some more thoughts/questions about pic 1:

1. If you own a suit, does that mean you really wear it (including a tie, etc.) to a soup kitchen? Wouldn't just a plain shirt do? Not to mention all the guys are wearing their hats, and in the background there is a business advertising Sewing machines and Vacuum cleaners - there must have been some business for them to be there. The fact they are wearing suits, etc. implies to me that many of these guys actually had jobs.

2. Where are the women/kids in that pic? Did the guys get enough food to take some home with them or what? Was it that the guys made enough to feed their families but then they had nothing for themselves? Was the time of this picture after 5:00 PM or around lunch? Were the kids in school - where were the wifes?

3. Wasn't anyone capable of growing their own food (and I realize problems with big city life, but it can still be done.).

JJacksET4

 

[failed_trad3r]

You guys know nothing. There is absolutely no depression going on in the USA. If you think so you are stupid. In the Netherlands there is only 5% unemployment. Where's the depression?

Also, do you guys even know the formal definition of a Depression? It needs a shrinkage of GDP by 10%. We have so far only a flattening of growth, so a GDP that doesn't grow and doesn't fall. YOU AIN"T SEEN NOTHING YET. A 10% shrinkage of GDP is way worse than what has happened so far. When the Depression truly hits, you guys will be the first to admit defeat.:eek:

P.S. You might realize that the USA deficit is 10% of USA GDP. Basically we prop up USA GDP by 10% every year by government expenditures. Of course this will not last and a depression is inevitable, because the moment we have a balanced USA budget GDP drops by the same amount as deficit expenditures, aka 10% drop -> Depression.

 

[S2007S]

Its a joke to see how many people around the US actually stand in line to save a few dollars, and for the stores to open up on thanksgiving day tells you that its all about corporate profits and nothing more. ITs all about greed.

 

[tradin4profits]

There are 10 's of thousands of jobs available right now the problem is most people are either "too good to do them" or TOO LAZY! Or think they deserve a better job .Every restaurant in America is hiring, alot of labor jobs out there plus many others especially medical.....tons of sales jobs etc. Cmon lazy asses and big shots get a job!!! OR, they can just all become traders and post on ET that they are millionaires like the rest of the people on here do.

 

[oldtime]

Quote from ElCubano:

not to mention Black Friday wasn't around in the 30's..

one of the best promotional gimmicks in our era.

Black Friday denotes the first day of the year retailers went into the black. It was normal for them to carry a loss all year long until the day after Thanksgiving.

The old joke was on that day the accountant would ask if we had any black ink, and the supply clerk said no, but I could go out and buy some. To which the accountant replied, "No, then we wouldn't need any."

 

[oldtime]

Living paycheck to paycheck is normal. That's the way almost all of nature does it. That's why we don't gather manna on the sabbath. Surplus creates problems.

 

[Random.Capital]

Quote from oldtime:

Living paycheck to paycheck is normal. That's the way almost all of nature does it. That's why we don't gather manna on the sabbath. Surplus creates problems.

One of those rare posts on ET that just can't be added to or improved...

 

[JJacksET4]

Quote from denner:

Men wore suits to baseball games in the 1930's, it was a cultural thing back in those days. It's nothing to do with joblessness. The unemployment rate in the 1930s was 25+%, so yes many men who wore suits were without employment.

Shit, did it ever occur to you to actually do a bit of due diligence before you opened your pie hole? You seem to think the Great Depression was "blown out of proportion" or something?

Yeah, how about this due allegiance - It has long been said that an ounce of gold can buy a nice suit - back when an ounce was $20 - a nice suit cost $20. When gold was $400, a nice suit was $400, etc. Now you can get a few nice suits since gold has gone up so much, etc. but the point is these guys were wearing an ounce of gold to the soup kitchen!

And btw I take issue from the other guys statement that if you are unemployed then the unemployment rate is 100% - If a person was unemployed when the U.S. rate was only 4%, they sure didn't get the sympathy they get now.

JJacksET4