World History
Main Causes of the Great Depression - A short paper on the origins of the Great Depression. Discusses economic problems and policies that led to the American economic collapse in the 1930s. It includes a bibliography.
This paper was originally published in Gusmorino World (May 13, 1996).
One interesting quote from the paper, "The large and growing disparity of wealth between the well-to-do and the middle-income citizens made the U.S. economy unstable. For an economy to function properly, total demand must equal total supply. In an economy with such disparate distribution of income it is not assured that demand will always equal supply. Essentially what happened in the 1920's was that there was an oversupply of goods. It was not that the surplus products of industrialized society were not wanted, but rather that those whose needs were not satiated could not afford more, whereas the wealthy were satiated by spending only a small portion of their income."
Does a disparity of wealth cause an economic depression? If so, does this only occur when the majority of those on the lower end are poor? Does this apply if there is a large disparity but most of those on the lower end are middle class? These are interesting questions and we may see some answers in the near future in the United States if the concentration of wealth becomes more and more uneven. Yet, early 20th Century America is far different than early 21st Century America. I don't think the poor are as poor now as they were in the last century. And it has been argued credibly that the distribution of income in the USA is not as uneven as it is being portrayed.
- Brief History Of Philanthropy In American Higher Education
(Text by Michael Lorenzen. Used with permission of the author) In American higher education, philanthropy is a big deal. From the construction of buildings, upgrade of athletic facilities, the funding of faculty positions, and the build up of the institutional...
- Tax Day 2007
Today is April 15th, which means taxes are due in the United States. OK, actually, they are due tomorrow as today is Sunday. However, April 15th is the traditional date for tax filing. Work out thine own taxes with fear and trembling... On AOL, I found...
- History Of Hawaii
History of Hawaii. This is a decent (although uneven) history of the American state of Hawaii. Of particular interest is the last paragraph which takes aim at the Hawaiian Independence (separatist) Movement. Hawaiian independence from the USA is no more...
- Deconstructing The Philanthropic Library: The Sociological Reasons Behind Andrew Carnegie's Millions To Libraries
Deconstructing the Philanthropic Library: The Sociological Reasons Behind Andrew Carnegie's Millions to Libraries This is an excellent essay on Andrew Carnegie by librarian Michael Lorenzen. It is well worth the read. From the site: Educational institutions...
- Great Depression Photographs
The Denver Post has this marvelous collection of depression era photographs from the Farm Security Administration Office of War Information and according to the Post "are some of the only color photographs taken of the effects of the Depression on America?s...
World History
Main Causes of the Great Depression
Main Causes of the Great Depression - A short paper on the origins of the Great Depression. Discusses economic problems and policies that led to the American economic collapse in the 1930s. It includes a bibliography.
This paper was originally published in Gusmorino World (May 13, 1996).
One interesting quote from the paper, "The large and growing disparity of wealth between the well-to-do and the middle-income citizens made the U.S. economy unstable. For an economy to function properly, total demand must equal total supply. In an economy with such disparate distribution of income it is not assured that demand will always equal supply. Essentially what happened in the 1920's was that there was an oversupply of goods. It was not that the surplus products of industrialized society were not wanted, but rather that those whose needs were not satiated could not afford more, whereas the wealthy were satiated by spending only a small portion of their income."
Does a disparity of wealth cause an economic depression? If so, does this only occur when the majority of those on the lower end are poor? Does this apply if there is a large disparity but most of those on the lower end are middle class? These are interesting questions and we may see some answers in the near future in the United States if the concentration of wealth becomes more and more uneven. Yet, early 20th Century America is far different than early 21st Century America. I don't think the poor are as poor now as they were in the last century. And it has been argued credibly that the distribution of income in the USA is not as uneven as it is being portrayed.
- Brief History Of Philanthropy In American Higher Education
(Text by Michael Lorenzen. Used with permission of the author) In American higher education, philanthropy is a big deal. From the construction of buildings, upgrade of athletic facilities, the funding of faculty positions, and the build up of the institutional...
- Tax Day 2007
Today is April 15th, which means taxes are due in the United States. OK, actually, they are due tomorrow as today is Sunday. However, April 15th is the traditional date for tax filing. Work out thine own taxes with fear and trembling... On AOL, I found...
- History Of Hawaii
History of Hawaii. This is a decent (although uneven) history of the American state of Hawaii. Of particular interest is the last paragraph which takes aim at the Hawaiian Independence (separatist) Movement. Hawaiian independence from the USA is no more...
- Deconstructing The Philanthropic Library: The Sociological Reasons Behind Andrew Carnegie's Millions To Libraries
Deconstructing the Philanthropic Library: The Sociological Reasons Behind Andrew Carnegie's Millions to Libraries This is an excellent essay on Andrew Carnegie by librarian Michael Lorenzen. It is well worth the read. From the site: Educational institutions...
- Great Depression Photographs
The Denver Post has this marvelous collection of depression era photographs from the Farm Security Administration Office of War Information and according to the Post "are some of the only color photographs taken of the effects of the Depression on America?s...