Patrick Simmons | Staff Writer
simmonspt@imail.losrios.edu
seems like another batch of jobs is lost, another bank is going under, another bailout is being proposed, and another company is going out of business. With the United States economy heading for catastrophe,
many wonder if we are approaching a new Great Depression.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate has risen from 4 percent in January 2008 to 7.6 percent in January 2009. Here in California the unemployment rate has reached 10.1 percent, which means one in every 10 Californians is unemployed, a situation the state hasn’t seen since 1983.
The economy has hit nursing major Eugene Clarke hard, especially since his roommate got laid off last December and he has had to take a bigger share of the bills.
“There’s a reason why I’m making $21 an hour and am still broke,” Clarke said.
Clarke works at a call center for Kaiser Permanente and said at this time of the year, things are usually busy because it’s cold and flu season, but with many people losing their jobs and benefits, it’s been slow.
During the Great Depression unemployment rose from 3.3 percent in 1929 to 25 percent in 1933. Can Obama and his team turn the economy around before we reach Great Depression status?
“Clearly we needed change in economic policy, and it’s unexplored territory in a lot of ways,” said City College economics professor Arthur Hernandez. “So do I think that the current administration is doing a good job? Only time will tell.”
While history professor Holly Piscopo thinks we’re not at Great Depression status yet, she admits it’s a possibility.
“People are ticked about gas prices and they don’t want to spend the money anymore, so maybe that will make some people who are all about their pocket books into somewhat environmentalists,” Piscopo said. “Our unemployment rate this morning was at 7.5 percent which isn’t Great Depression-like, but its sharply increasing each month.”
Hernandez says despite these circumstances, we must think about the future, when we pull out of this mess.
“I think that in life in general, even when someone dumps you or you lose a job, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” Hernandez said.
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