In the Depression, unemployment reached a staggering 25 percent. Things were so grim that once-hardworking family men joined together into angry, desperate mobs of rioters that cities were forced to deal with on the streets.
By comparison, the current U.S. unemployment rate stands at 5.7 percent, an increase from recent values but no reason to riot.
However, this does bring up an issue about your potential dark side. The discipline you bring to the economy is good - up to a point.
More cautious spending and greater saving by consumers and more prudence by lenders are exactly what our economy needs for long-term health. I hope you don't give us too much of a good thing.
If people obsess over your bad points, discipline can become fear. Caution and prudence can become an unwillingness to engage in economic activity. Fear of a long, deep recession can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
To avoid this, we should remember your good points, and turn the pain you bring into strength. After all, even the Great Depression had a redeeming quality.
The hard lessons it brought to millions of Americans were not in vain. It forged an entire generation inside an economic blast furnace, giving them a sense of sacrifice and perseverance that would later serve them well. It may be no coincidence that those who lived during that time came to be called "the greatest generation."
It would be nice if that is not what you plan for us, but you do have an important job to do. Please, do not overstay the welcome.
Paul McDonnold, a freelance writer, has taught economics at the University of North Texas, the University of Delaware and North Lake College in Irving, Texas. This article originally appeared in The Christian Science Monitor.
