
Is there a similarity between yesteryears' Great Depression with today's Great Recession?
Here is a comparative account of the two. The former was a result of too many irresponsible borrowers whereas the latter resulted from irresponsible lenders.
The unemployment rates during the depression were as high as 25% where as it is 7.5% for recession. Today, a total of 57 banks have failed whereas then about 9096 banks defaulted.
The decline in growth was as much as 25% during depression. Recession shows a 3.6% decline in economic growth. The response of USA to the depression was to raise taxes whereas now it is fiscal relief through federal stimulus packages.