Here are just three charts that have economy watchers wringing their hands over the possibility of a replay of the last Great Depression.
US Person has unabashedly been calling the financial panic and economic collapse since 2008, the "Second Great Depression", for some time. In the first Great Depression there was a robust recovery in the market post 1929, only for a relapse to take place in 1932.
This economic decline has seen more jobs lost for a longer period of time than previous "recessions" since WWII. Without jobs, people cannot buy houses. Real estate is a major driver of the FIRE economy. Housing inventories are increasing:
To make matters worse credit is contracting. Banks are mostly lending to the federal government which is spending the money on foreign wars, not domestic economic stimulus. Consumers are already burdened with a huge amount of outstanding debt:
US Person asked last week what was the explanation for only North Dakota's positive increase in business activity from last year. It seems that oil and gas exploration may be responsible for the state's out sized economic performance. Of course the development will come at a high environmental price. See the shocking documentary,
"Gasland", for further details.
[chart source: BusinessInsider.com]
