Bailout May Moderate City Downturn by Patrick McGeehan
Current Event by Emma Noyes
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Summary of Article:
Two years ago, we went into a recession, and New York was expected to go under in a big way. There was supposed to be skyrocketing unemployment and an awful stock market. While things weren't pretty, this article discusses how New York came out better than any other city. Giant bank bailouts helped significantly, and job losses were less than predicted (200,000 instead of 300,000). Of course, they'll never know until they have reached the finish of the recession, but things are significantly looking up. It's expected that New York will slowly be pulling itself up and out of the crisis, but it will be much quicker than originally thought.
How this relates to class:
In social studies, we have just begun learning about the Great Depression. During the Great Depression, many people lost their jobs. Also, the stock market crashed, which is thought to be the initial cause of the Depression. This article deals with many similar aspects of the depression, except in present day. In fact, the worst part recession we were recently in was supposed to have been the worst since the Great Depression.
3 Questions:
1. Considering the whole country, do you think the recession wasn't as bad as it was made out to be? Explain.
2. What is one reason why the recession wasn't as bad in New York as in other major cities?
3. Do you think we are near the finish of the recession? Why or why not?
My Answers:
1. It's tough to say. While I agree that it had taken much less time than expected to slowly weave our way out, it's also true that this was an awful time for many people. We cannot forget the suffering that thousands, if not millions, went through.
2. One reason it wasn't as bad in New York was the fact that the federal government gave much more bailout money to the banks there than anywhere else.
3. Yes, I think we are close. At least, it appears that we are much closer than anyone ever thought we'd be at this point. That's a very good sign, like a candle in a dark room that's growing brighter each day.
Comments (5)
Noor Q said
at 9:57 pm on Mar 4, 2010
1. I still think it's pretty bad, although it does seem to be passing quicker than most experts had forecasted. The economy is still in an overall sad shape, and everyday more and more people continue to lose their jobs. But considering this data about New York, our country's biggest city, I have a hopeful outlook on the future.
2. Well, they received a lot more money from the federal governments so many of the central banks would not go bankrupt. This helped keep their economy fueled and running, whereas other major cities did not receive as much funding.
3. I think we're getting closer, but it'll still be a while. Everyday I hear about more job losses, and debt, and overall, it looks to me like the situation hasn't improved that drastically on the national level. However, changes have been made, and although the journey will be tough, we have a good head start to getting back to normal.
Philip C. said
at 3:40 pm on Mar 6, 2010
1. Recession is a pretty devastating blow to the economy. If the economy goes bad, business goes bad, then our financial situation goes bad. Therefore recession should never be taken lightly.
2. New York City is one of our biggest city. Also it probably went through this panic of losing money and other things. Also the banks help New York at that time, which controlled the panic.
3. I have not seen any progress really, but in time we will get out of this economic slump and be back on the bull run.
Hannah B said
at 9:07 pm on Mar 6, 2010
1. No, I think that the recession still continues to effect our country negatively. Unemployment is still a prevalent issue, and many have been hurt from it. Many irreversible losses have occurred to millions of people.
2. New York received more government bailout money and cities that did not get the same special treatment did not make such a good recovery. However, with New York City leading the way, it sparks a new turn for other cities looking for hope in such bleak times.
3. It's hard to say, but I am sure that in the future we can overcome this recession. The road to recovery has been taken before and I think the United States has the experience to get by this obstacle.
Jack B said
at 12:16 pm on Mar 7, 2010
1. I heard from one person that it was going to be like the great depression maybe a little better, but I think that we are doing a lot better than anyone has expected.
2. I think it wasn’t has bad in New York because of the buying and selling in the state. Because a lot of people buy in New York they give more jobs for people and people make more money.
3. I think that by the end of the year everything will be better and we will be out of the recession because of more opportunity of job offerings.
Alex R said
at 5:35 pm on Mar 7, 2010
1. I think that the recession has lived up to its reputation. This is the worst economic slump since the depression. There is a mass amount of bank failures, unemployment has soared up, and the real estate market has been doing horrible all across the nation.
2. One reason New York wasn’t affected as much is because they, being the media capital that they are, received a lot of bank bailouts from the government which eliminated a lot of financial problems that other major cities had to face.
3. I think that we are on the verge of going one of two ways. One, pulling out of the recession and everything becomes stable. The other is things become worse because of more unemployment and bank failures. It all depends on how much the government is willing to help America get back up on its feet financially.
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