Just weeks after the stock market crashed in 1929. And we all know how that turned out: The Great Depression. But left barely spoken is the explicit economic threat: a depression-like downturn rivaling the 1930s — prolonged double-digit joblessness, an unprecedented economic contraction, and widespread bankruptcy.
It was the same globally. Economic growth hit a six-year low last year in Germany, Europe’s engine, falling to 0.6%, its slowest since 2013. Japan’s economy shrank by 6.3% and the country already appeared to be headed for its first recession since 2015. The global economy as a whole rose by just 2.4% last year, its lowest rate since the 2009 financial crash. An expectant mood grew of something that would finally push the U.S. and the world into an economic contraction, though no one could say what it would be.
Although no one placed the forecasts in historical context, if we reach anywhere near those numbers, it will be far worse than the Great Recession, and nearly the magnitude of the Great Depression.
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