Historical Perspective: News From 1930

All too often, investors either ignore or are unaware of historical precedents to today's economic issues. Whether it be the oft-repeated bullish proclamation "They're not making any more land!" (due to a lack of recognition of the repeated boom and bust nature of the housing industry), or beliefs that well-operated, efficient businesses will be quickly erased by emerging technologies, the lessons of history often go unheeded.

One site that offers temporary reprieve from the mentality that we are in uncharted waters is News From 1930. Each day, readers are given a summary of the news on this date in 1930! Following the stock market crash in 1929, investors in 1930 were in a similar position to investors today: is a recovery on the way, or is there more gloom on the horizon?

Of course, we know (or can find out) what happened in the years following 1930, and that doesn't help us determine what will happen tomorrow. However, by educating ourselves on the events that took place in prior recessions, we gain an understanding of where this recession fits (both in magnitude and in velocity) in a historical context, and what needs to take place before a recovery takes place.

Comments

[Dave Wrixon:]

I thought Bernanke was suppose to have done all that! LOL

Jun 28 05:07 AM

[Roger Knights:]

Thanks--it's wonderful. (I've recommended it to Boing Boing.)

Jun 28 07:10 AM

[BlueOkie:]

History tends to repeat itself. Not sure comparing this recession to the Great Depression is apples to apples. There are lessons to be learned. If the past was a good predictor of the future, I could be very very rich.

Jun 28 08:45 AM

[CaptainJJack:]

I believe that farm workers were included in the employment numbers in the 1930s so that on an apples for apples basis, the unemployment level for the non-farm workers was north of 35% in the 1930s.

I do not think we are in the same league, today, as the Great Depression

Jun 28 09:28 AM

[hound:]

In Feb. '29, the Fed was busy blaming those darn speculators.

Jun 28 10:50 AM

[Chief buffalo:]

Unfortunately, this administration is a great job killing machine. I do not understand the following it continues to get from the very unions and workers whose jobs are being eliminated by the policies being placed into force. Trucking, mining, automobile,oil exploration,hotels,steel & metals production, construction, all are blue collar union jobs lost but blindly following the Piper.

Jun 28 01:11 PM

[Valley Boy:]

Time Magazine's Time.com Cover Archives is another good website for researching the Great Depression and past recessions. Their archive dates back to March 1923. For their news of 1930, type in 1931 in their archive search box on their website, click backwards to choose covers covering the weeks of 1930, then scroll down to click to choose Table of Contents for any given cover, then click to choose any article that sounds interesting in the business section. Employment was already down about eleven percent from the late 1920s boom to the middle of 1930 and the economy in general was down about eight percent in that same time frame. Recession was mentioned more than depression in 1930.

Jun 28 11:25 PM