THE FLIP SIDE OF THE U.S. ECONOMIC RECESSION 2007-09

Year 2011, Volume: 3 Issue: 1, 55 - 63, 01.06.2011

Behrouz Tabrizi

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to translate economic figures and indices into the living
conditions of people who are behind the statistics of the U.S. economic recession,
which officially began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. The pathology
of the Great Recession began with the financial shock, which resulted from the
buildup of financial mischief since the 1980s, and the burst of its real estate
bubble by 2007.
A recession is a man-made tragedy with a large human cost. This paper addresses
this flip side of the current economic crisis by examining its human consequences
on different social classes and groups. A breakdown of various data proves that
the working class, the majority in U.S. society, suffers most from the recession,
and yet, some amongst them even more than others, depending upon their social
status with regard to education, race, and age.

Keywords

Great Recession, Unemployment rates, Human cost,

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