Someone famous said "those who do not learn from history are condemned to relive it". I know Richard Nixon paraphrased that quote many times.
I was born in 1940. It was 10 years after the "Depression" which ocurred shortly after the stock market crash of 1929. All the stories I heard were from Grandma's and Grandpa's and "old people". Unemployment was high. Cash was "king". Banks actually closed their doors and people couldn't retrieve their hard earned savings. People slept in their cars. Homes were foreclosed. I've seen pictures of "breadlines" where people got public charitable handouts.
It is now 80 years later and the stock market recently has gone in the "toilet". I'm not saying it is 1929 all over again because safeguards have been built into the system. This time around everybody has insured savings accounts up to $250,000. Banks are not closing their doors. Unemployment seems to be trending upward (many people have exhausted their unemployment benefits so they are no longer counted amount those needing jobs). People are losing their homes. There are more people living out of their cars. Have we come full circle?
I remember Nana saving buttons in a jar so that if someone needed to replace one, she had lots of selection. There were gardens with potatoes for the winter and tomatoes to be canned. People grew many vegetables that got preserved versus going to the supermarket today. You had one pair of shoes and when the soles wore out, you'd have the soles replaced. All clothes got handed down to siblings (screw the designer jeans concept). Cars were nursed to the point of collapse before they got replaced. You worked for one employer all your life. Simplicity ruled.
Some of the principles of the Depression still apply. Enjoy simple things. Save your money. Cash is "king". Spend your money on "needs", not "wants". Pay off debt.
So to answer the question, "are we headed full circle" back to the struggling survival tactics that ruled the Depression. I don't think so but that skills practiced during those days still work. Hopefully we have learned from history.
Love,
Dad
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