The Bottom Line: Income not related to unemployment rose from 15% in 1929, to 40% in 2008, meaning the today the US economy is much more resilient. Factor in that unemployment will never reach 25% as in 1929, the impact of a 10% unemployment will be ¼ of 1929, other considerations remaining constant.

Non-employment Income is defined as Interest on fixed income savings, dividends, social security and other government’s transfers, and pensions.

Greedy businessmen and bankers price themselves out of the market. Greed is not enough to make you rich, you need a product that everyone thrives for.

The true culprit of this crisis was not greed, leverage or bad lending practices, but a little known fact. America has a tax code that allows Americans to deduct from taxable income, the interest on home mortgages, extendable to summer homes and sail boats. Up to 1 million dollars worth of mortgage.

The American Banking System is one of the most regulated industries in America. Since 1935, banks have had to deal with regulations that no other industry has come near. So what went wrong?

Because of 1929, banking regulations were devised setting up minimal capital requirements. They established capital adequacy ratios in order to prohibit banks from lending more than 12 times their capital plus retained earnings.