Welcome back to The Professional Student! I hope you’ve caught up on the previous book review blogs, but if not, no worries. We are going to keep moving forward and talk about a lot of highs and lows.
We’re in the 20th century, and things have progressed rapidly in America. The early years of the 1900s were prosperous, and the country was thriving, but not everything was butterflies and sunshine unless you were in Hollywood. War is looming, not just a typical war, but the First World War because of a conflict between the Allies and the Central Powers.
Millions of men left home to fight, and women filled manufacturing and farming jobs back home, a vast departure from the typical household model. Women also enlisted in various branches of service in jobs usually away from the battlefield but provided direct support to the front lines. The war ended in 1918, and economic prosperity followed, known as The Roaring Twenties. Ironically enough, during this time, prohibition also started (and lasted 13 years) making it illegal to sell, transport, and produce alcoholic beverages.
When there is a demand, there will always be a supply if money is to be made regardless of the law. Bootleggers understood this and risked criminal charges, fines, and jail time, all for the sake of alcohol. The same can be said for illegal drugs and narcotics in America today.
I think we’ve all seen folks who struggle with addiction and many countries have decriminalized drugs. The legalization of illegal drugs could provide an entire new market and tax source. It could also ensure the safety of the ingredients in the drugs without users worrying about what they’re laced with and save lives. I don’t think big pharma would appreciate that as their revenue could decrease. Why spend your money on pain pills from big pharma when you can go purchase what they’re made out of legally?
Aside from bootlegging, The Roaring Twenties was a significant period of economic boom thanks to technology that allowed for the mass production of goods, the electrification of America, mass marketing, cheap credit, and more job creation. There were automobiles, television, and electricity. Things were looking up until they weren’t.
On Black Thursday, October 24, 1929, the stock market crashed. Millions of shares were sold by investors who lost faith in the economy. The panic spread beyond investors to regular working-class citizens running to the banks to withdraw all their cash before they collapsed. Not everyone made it. Life savings were lost, retirement funds were lost, businesses crashed and could not operate, and people lost jobs, homes, cars, and livelihoods.
Several banks crashed over the past few years, such as First Republic Bank, Signature Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Almena State Bank. These “niche” banks were not federally insured, meaning deposits and risky mortgage lending practices were not protected. Since 2001, 567 banks have failed (FDIC, 2024. What is the lesson here? Make sure your accounts and deposits are federally insured! Maybe keep some cash at home in a shoe box, too. I also remember the housing market crash in 2007, thanks to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The current economy is also questionable, and some sources believe another depression will start in 2030, lasting well into 2036 (ITR Economics, 2023).
Roosevelt created The New Deal to help get America out of The Great Depression by introducing programs such as public work projects, financial reform, and federal regulations. The New Deal helped, but was it what pulled us out of The Great Depression, or was it World War II?
The Great Depression ended in 1939, the same year World War II started between the Allies and the Axis powers. Millions of men were drafted into military service, and millions of new jobs were created in the defense and war industries. As an Army veteran, wars are a terrible thing to witness, but they’re also very profitable, depending on which side of the line you’re on.
World War II saw many things, but most significantly, the creation of nuclear weapons in America. These weapons of mass destruction forever changed the face of the planet when two atomic bombs were horrifically dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, ultimately ending the war, which led to another great period of economic boom that was driven by increased government spending. And a baby boom or boomers, as we like to say!
References
FDIC (2024). Bank Failures in Brief- Summary. https://www.fdic.gov/resources/resolutions/bank-failures/in-brief/index.html
ITR Economics (2023). Why Awareness of the Comming Great Depression Is Vital for Success in the 2030s. https://blog.itreconomics.com/blog/why-awareness-of-coming-great-depression-is-vital-for-success-in-2030s#:~:text=ITR%20Economics%20is%20projecting%20that,pop%20up%20during%20this%20period.
Srinivasan, B. (2018). Americana: A 400-year history of American capitalism. Penguin Press.
Innovative Leadership and Entrepreneurship: A Graduate Student's Perspective 