Analysis: The Great Recession

First, we need to understand how the Great Recession occurred. It all started with President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. Reagan was famous for his supply-side economic views (Amadeo 1). He used top-down economics meaning he used government intervention to give businesses tax breaks and subsidies to create economic growth. With this he also started a continuing phenomenon to deregulate Wall Street. He believed this would create vast economic growth and it did. But it created a bubble and it

In this report, the Great Recession and the current economic down turn in the United States will be discussed. This report will cover the definition of both a recession and depression, and how these two differ from one another. The report will then detail two significant factors that were involved in the formation of the Great Recession. Finally, the report will discuss the differences and similarities between the Great Recession and other recessions that have taken place in recent U.S. history.

Ever since September 11, 2001, the vitality of America’s economy has never been the same. Aside from America already going through a recession since, the attacks by Islamic terrorists on American soil had escalated the situation in one of the worst ways possible. The purpose of this paper will highlight the issues regarding America’s recession and its overall impact on the economy.

The United States is a country that over the years has relied on its economic stability to continue providing acceptable living for its citizens and continue its leadership of the free world. This country went through an economic depression which lasted several years throughout the 1920’s and the 1940’s but successfully recovered from it after World War II. An economic boom in the 1990’s during George Clinton’s Presidency the federal budget was managed to be balanced and helped increase the economic crisis of the United States. The recovery did not last long as the United Stated went through a huge recession during George Bush’s Presidency in what many experts called the “Great Recession” which affected many especially businesses and middle class citizens. Although today many consider the recession to be over the effects of it can still be felt today specially by many middle class families like my own. I come from a small family of three which includes my parents and me. My family comes from minimum wage salaries and have been part of same line of work for many years however, the amount of necessities the family can afford has definitely changed. For example, the amount of groceries you can buy nowadays with a $20 bill is much less than those of the 1990‘s. The price of gas has certainly gone up which has caused many companies to outsource jobs or close down. My dad was laid off his dream job due to budgets cuts while my mom’s working hours have been reduced. As a result my

An economic recession occurs when the economy is suffering, and unemployment is on a rise. A drop in the stock market and a decrease in the housing market will also affect the economy due to a recession. Higher interest rates affect the economy constrain liquidly or the cash available to invest in stocks and businesses. Inflation alludes to the rise in prices of goods and services which also puts a strain on the economy further adding to a recession. Businesses were lost and consumer spending dwindled the only category that remained safe was healthcare. The economic meaning of a recession is a decline in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) consisting of two consecutive quarters on a decline. If the economy is bad consumers are less likely to spend money on goods and service. The effects of a declining economy forced the government to create monetary

The Great Recession inflicted abundant harm in the U.S. and global economy; 8.7 million jobs vanished (Center on Budget), 9.3 million Americans lost their homes (Kusisto), and the U.S. GDP fell below what the economy was capable to produce (Center on Budget). The financial crisis was unforeseen by millions and few predicted that the market would enter a recession. Due to the impact that the recession had, several studies have been conducted in order to determine what caused the recession and if it could have been prevented. Government intervention played a key role in the crisis by providing the bailout money that saved those “Too Big to Fail” institutions. Due to the amount of money invested in the bailout and the damage that the financial crisis had on the U.S. population, “Too Big to Fail Banks”, and financial regulation are two of the biggest focuses of the presidential candidates. Politicians might assure voters that change will occur, but is it to late for change to be efficient, are the financial institutions making the same mistakes that led to the financial crisis?

The Great Recession lasted from December of 2007 until June of 2009, making it the longest recession since World War II. During this time, gross domestic product (GDP), inflation, unemployment, and interest rates were all greatly affected. The previously mentioned metrics are used to compare today’s economy to the economy during the Great Recession to see how the United States has rebounded since 2009. Monetary and fiscal policies were also implemented to combat the recession, and their effects determine whether or not the policies have a lasting effect in continuing to help the U.S. economy rebound.

The Great Recession, December 2007 through June2009 marks an unstable 18 months for the United States’ economy, that countless amounts of people won’t forget. The housing and bank markets during the recession were not recouping much money off loans and low interest rates, which cause both markets to nearly crash. This caused many Americans to lose their jobs and the unemployment rates to reach the highest numbers since the Great Depression. But ever since 2009, the economy has been an on slow but steady track up to being what it once was.

A budgetary stimulus is a necessity to help avoid recessions. Fiscal policy is when a government adjusts its’ spending levels and tax rates in order to impact the nation’s economic status. It is linked to the monetary policy which involves a bank and affects the nation’s money source. When there is an increase in unemployment and the economy is soon reaching a recession, the fiscal policy will help maintain the economy. The fiscal policy will decrease taxes and widely promote government spending. On the other hand, when unemployment is declining and prices are escalating, the policy will reduce government spending and raise the prices on taxes. The Great Recession was a horrific economic crisis that led businesses and buyers to drastically

The Great Recession officially began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009, making it the longest recession since World War II. Some people blame it on the greed of the Wall Street bankers and others on subprime mortgage lenders. It began with the bursting of an 8 trillion dollar housing bubble. The subsequent loss of wealth prompted sharp reductions in consumer spending. This loss of consumption, joined with the financial market mayhem, also led to a collapse in investment banking. Massive job loss followed the same trend as the dwindling consumer spending and business investment. In 2008 and 2009, the U.S. labor market lost 8.4 million occupations - the most considerable business contraction of any recession since the Great Depression. The Great Recession of 2008 was sparked by the housing crisis and Americans today still struggle with its effects.

Since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the United States of America has experienced many recession. The most recent of these recessions began December of 2007 and lasted till about January of 2009. Within the time period, the United States lost approximately 8 trillion dollars when the housing market collapsed causing chaos in the financial market led to a collapse in business investments. As consumer spending and business investments declined, it led to the loss of 8.4 million jobs which then caused major employment contraction doubling the unemployment rate from 5% to 10%. Fear began spreading among fellow Americans as their job and financial security was hanging from a small threat, which led to a drastic decrease in consumer spending.

From December 2007 to June 2009 the United States economy was confronted with its greatest challenge since the Great Depression. The financial crisis was so great that it was coined the term the Great Recession. Many factors contributed to the collapse of the U.S economy; such as, the financial crisis (2007–08), U.S. subprime mortgage crisis (2007–09), a shrinking Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate and unpresented unemployment rates. A recent (2016) article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Post-Recession Rethink: Growth Potential Dimmed Before Downturn” examines the economic aftermath of the Great Recession.

“The Great Recession of 2008 didn't just happen in one month. It took years to correct the easy-money policies and lax standards of Wall Street”. Corruption in Wall Street ran rampant in the months leading up to the recession. Many brokers on Wall Street poorly informed customers, and tied them into mortgages they simply could not sustain. Corporations could get away with corrupt actions due to a lack of regulation on business practices, specifically instituting regulations on big financial corporations. At the same time, the government bailed out multiple large-scale businesses, as an attempt to preserve struggling American industry. This ultimately proved not to be beneficial. As our mother remarked, “I did have an idea that we were going to be heading for at least a contraction in the market. But, I had absolutely no clue of the magnitude of it, and blindsided me a bit. I feel like it was protracted because of all of the bailouts that were offered… It might have had a more natural outcome if some institutions were allowed to fail…”. Ultimately, government efforts to prevent an impending recession were concentrated in areas that would only magnify its

The economic meaning of a recession is that the gross Domestic Product (GDP) has declined for two or more consecutive quarters. Unemployment rises, housing falls, stocks fall and the economy is in trouble. Whenever the government sees that the economy is entering a recession it is important for it to act. The U.S acted in two ways during the Great recession of 2008 through fiscal and monetary policies. Renaud Fillieule identifies that “ Monetary and credit expansions have been the main tools used by the U.S. government and central bank to try and recover economically from the Great Recession of 2008” (Fillieule r, Pg. 99 2016). These Keynesian policies are debatable among economist, none the less they were implemented and put the U.S on the road to recovery.

Recession cycles are thought to be a normal part of living in a world of inexact balances between supply and demand. What turns a usually mild and short recession or "ordinary" business cycle into an actual depression is a subject of debate and concern. Scholars have not agreed on the exact causes and their relative importance. The search for causes is closely connected to the question of how to avoid a future depression, and so the political and policy viewpoints of scholars are mixed into the analysis of historic events eight decades ago. The even larger question is whether it was largely a failure on the part of free markets or largely a failure on the part of government efforts to regulate interest rates, curtail widespread bank failures, and control the money supply. Those who believe in a large role for the state in the economy believe it was mostly a failure of the free markets and those who believe in free markets believe it was mostly a failure of government that compounded the problem.