When the National Bureau of Economic Research announced Dec. 1 that the United States had been, officially, in a recession for a year, it confirmed what many Americans already suspected.
The signs had been there: foreclosures. A decline in home prices. Companies cutting budgets and jobs.
The country began 2008 embroiled in the sub-prime mortgage mess, and the bad economic news continued in a domino effect. Financial giants such as investment bank Bear Stearns and then Lehman Brothers tumbled, the latter filing for bankruptcy in September. In that same month, Washington Mutual collapsed, making headlines as the largest bank failure in our country’s history. The government began responding to the economic crisis, loaning money to individual giants in the mortgage and insurance industries. Then Congress passed a whopping $700 billion bailout for financial industries, investing in banks, automakers and insurers. By November, General Motors, Chrysler and Ford execs were back in Washington asking for more government loans.
Bankruptcies, layoffs, liquidations and branch closings were part of the year’s daily headlines. Media companies, big-box retailers and other stalwarts of American business — AT&T and even Starbucks — took hits.
And as the crisis moved from Wall Street to Main Street, the unemployment figures continued to rise.
In November alone, the country lost more than 533,000 jobs — the most in 34 years.
For many Americans — too many Americans — their dreams of a better tomorrow were temporarily put on hold and loaded up in a cardboard box with their desk calendar, coffee mug and other personal effects from the office.
Heather Svokos – Sources: reports by The Associated Press
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