The 2008 financial depression: cultural effects
| Subject: | 💰 Economics |
| Type: | Analytical Essay |
| Pages: | 2 |
| Word count: | 530 |
| Topics: | 💱 Macroeconomics, Community, Resilience, 💵 Finance, 💳 Microeconomics |
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William Michelson is a resident of Atlanta in the state of Georgia. Michelson is a professional banker in his city and therefore represents the American middle-class worker earning slightly above the national median salary for professionals in his position nationwide. Having lost his banking job in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The financial crisis of 2008 led to the widespread loss of employment in the United States. Millions of individuals were retrenched and deprived of their livelihoods (Dolezalek, 2012). It is during this period that financial institutions foreclosed the homes of millions of people who were on a mortgage.
Mr. William describes the impact the Depression had on his life and that of his surrounding community. Like many others who lost employment, Williams’s house was foreclosed as he could not reliably pay back the loan as per stipulated time-frame. This led to a lot of problems in his financial, social and mental status. The economic depression leads to the loss of livelihoods of numerous American citizens who lost property due to loans (Soros, 2010). Average commodity and consumption in the country plummeted, and the country saw the largest wave of unemployment since the great depression of 1930 (Welky, 2008). This depression also significantly affected the cultural mindset of the American people.
Despite the recovery of the economy, the American people have displayed a reluctance to take up asset financing for acquiring property. Mr. William, despite having a better paying job as compared to the one he had, he is a skeptic of taking up another mortgage to finance the acquisition of a home. Mr. Williamson now prefers leasing a home for a given period. It is notable that the consumption of mortgages has struggled to improve since the financial crisis (Dolezalek, 2012). In general, the perception regarding financial institutions and how they are managed. The various legislation was passed to regulate financial institutions from hedging their bets in high-risk environments.
The overall demand for commodities has slowly increased (Soros, 2010). It is estimated that it will take five to ten more years for consumption to reach and exceed the per-depression levels. Mr. William is now more reluctant to spend money on commodities and services h does not deem essential (Welky, 2008). The increase in discounted sales such as Black Friday demonstrates the reluctance of the general public to spend on commodities (Welky, 2008). This consumer pattern has been blamed for the sluggish economic growth in the United States and other countries that experienced the financial crisis.
Despite the challenges and hardships experienced by affected individuals during the financial crisis, an aura of resolving and perseverance has been exhibited by everyone affected by the depression. The economy has been stable and on a positive trajectory for the last eight years. Most individuals who lost their jobs have found better jobs, with the economy creating the most jobs per month as compared to previous periods in history (Dolezalek, 2012). Though Mr. William is skeptical towards financial institutions and the status of the economy, he remains optimistic that the future is bright. Mr. William’s views are representative of the majority of American citizens and the testament of the culture of resilience.
- Dolezalek, H. (2012). The global financial crisis. Minnesota: ABDO Publishing Company.
- Soros, G. (2010). The new paradigm for financial markets: the credit crisis of 2008 and what it means. New York: PublicAffairs.
- Welky, D. (2008). Everything was better in America: print culture in the Great Depression. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
