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Originally Posted by WhiplashDug
The current economic situation isn't as bad as you are being told... the ecomony was in FAR WORSE shape in the mid 80's!!!
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Unemployment-wise yes, but give another 6 months and even that may be worse than the 1980s. Keep in mind that employment statistics are far more skewed now than they were back then.
So whatever the govt says the unemployment rate is, add several percent ... and the mismatch between the govt stated rate and real rate of unemployment will likely grow even larger next year ... ie. say hypothetically in Mar-2009 the govt reports 8%, the actual will likely be more like 15% ...
And unemployment numbers don't include under-employment ... add that in, and the unemployment rate is even worse.
Bottom line is that 1980s high levels of unemployment is much closer to reality than many realize.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WhiplashDug
People have such short term memories... I guess some more econ & history would have been beneficial in school.
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CDOs didn't exist until the 1980s, and only become widely popular in the late 1990s. CDOs add a whole new dimension never seen before.
Back in the 1980s, an experienced accountant / financial analyst could look at most any bank and determine with much confidence what their assets and liabilities were.
Fastforward to now ... even the best and brightest in the business can't make heads or tails of what the status of many banks are; even the banks themselves often have no idea.
Speaking of the 1980s, the government loan (bailout) of Chrysler back around then (1979; repaid by 1983) to the tune of around $1 billion (that amount even in 2008 dollars would still be single-digit) was a very big deal.
These days, the government is handing out tens, even hundreds, of billions every week as if it's just another routine thing.
I remember the 1980s very well - what we're experiencing now is very different, and likely will end being up far worse.
Ron