Economic Depression

Image of fireworksthink iconDid you know that most economic events or actions have many effects? Here are some modern examples that you might already know:

  • The 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico restricted many fishermen from catching fish in those waters, greatly reducing the supply of seafood from the area. If you wanted to buy seafood that came from the Gulf during that time, the cost was higher than before the oil spill.
  • Conflict in the Middle East can cause the price of oil to increase which then causes gas prices to increase in the United States.
  • China's recent restrictions on the export of rare earth metals which are used in all kinds of high technology products has raised the cost of making everything from cell phones to the RAM in the computer you're using right now.

When the stock market crashed in the United States in 1929, the effects were felt around the world. The crash marked the end of the Roaring Twenties and the beginning of the Great Depression which lasted throughout the 1930s. The crash didn't just affect one industry. With the onset of financial crisis and unemployment, it had radical implications for pretty much anyone living in an industrialized country.