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Life Talk!

Economy collapses. What happens where you live?

worldmikel

worldmikel

United States

In the past few months, the USA has seen many banks close. Most people in the USA don't own their own homes. They buy them with mortgages that they get from banks. Banks lent more money than what people could pay back. Now banks have taken back millions of homes and thrown people out on the streets. The US Treasury and Federal Reserve has just bailed out two of the major lenders by guaranteeing the stock of these companies with more money than the US government really has. This is part of a worldwide Economic crisis that could see every major country in Depression. The US and the world had a major Economic Depression in the late 20's and all of the 1930's. It was a terrible situation. The US and other countries have advanced in so many ways since then. Lifestyles have changed and grown. When the next Depression hits, most people that lived through the previous one won't be alive to tell about what it will be like. 

My question here is: When this Depression hits first in the USA and then around the world, what kinds of things happen where you live? How does life change? What things will you have to give up because you cannot afford them? Will there be more crime and illness where you live? 

Nobody know for sure how bad it will get, but you can imagine and describe different scenes using the questions I've asked as a basis for your story. I will do the same, so you can see what I mean. It is a good thing to think about. Don't you think so?

09:20 PM Sep 11 2008 |

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AmyMaria

Netherlands

Hello,

I'm nineteen years old and I live in the Netherlands. Together with Germany, America is one of our most important trading partners. Our economy's health depends on the health of America's economy (like most countries in the world.) We already notice the negative effects of the economical crisis in the United States. Personally, I'm not very interested in economics, but the last few months you can not avoid the topic anymore. It's the head topic in every news broadcast in Holland. As I said, I don't know much about economics, but I do know that things get worse here every day. Our main index: the 'AEX' has dropped dramatically over the last few months.

We also have the 'Iceland-problem': A few weeks ago, a number of large Dutch towns announced that they had put millions on an Icelandic bank called 'Icesave'. Because of the economical crisis, this bank went bankrupt; the money is gone… There were also a lot of private investors and citizens who had put money in that bank. Our government had to jump in and garanteed that everybody would get (a part) of his money back. At this moment the government is trying to get our money back from Iceland.

One of the largest banks in the Netherlands, Fortis, had such big financial problems that the Dutch state had to 'buy' the bank to prevent it from going bankrupt. So one of the biggest banks here, is now in the hands of the government; not an ideal situation either…

In my daily life I can't really say that the crisis affects me directly. Prices appear the same to me and my parents didn't stop buying expensive things or something like that. I do hear people around me say that it is not the best time to move houses now. They say that we should wait before spending a lot of money, to see how things develop. 

So let's wait for times: 'It's better not to move when you are being saved.'

Regards, Amy

03:01 PM Nov 11 2008 |

spontan

spontan

Germany

hi wanye

china has a big solar company.the company is as big as the biggest German solar firm Solar World.The chinese firm is called Suntech so far i know produce they nearly only for export.

""""Suntech is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of innovative solar energy solutions for a wide variety of customers and applications. Our R&D team in Wuxi, China continues to pioneer technology advances in solar power generation products. We are expanding our capacity by building more factories and installing cost effective equipment to make solar energy a practical solution for more customers around the globe. We have sales offices and installation partners in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia."""

China has a lot of foreign exchange like dollar and Euro,why they don't use the money to build up a electricity infrastruktur in rural  areas so could grow the solar company and after the world finance crisis they would be sure the biggest solarcell producer in the world. today the German solarcell company said they expect for next year stagnation because of finance problems by customer 

10:30 PM Nov 11 2008 |

spontan

spontan

Germany

the finance crisis slide now slowly in a economic crisis      150 000 Mercedes less in one year (2009) is a fact.

 

Daimler decreed a massive savings rate. The Stuttgart auto group wants to appear in the coming year some 150,000 cars of the Mercedes build less. The management is considering production in the carnival holiday for a week and on Easter six days to stop.

 

10:47 AM Nov 16 2008 |

spontan

spontan

Germany

first time by ebaby the members have less fights,nice to see how peaceful life talk can be,at the moment is love the most used word not war or terrorists it make me hope.

but only with love you have nothing to eat…therefore i want to remember to the finance crisis.sometimes i don't want to have right , but the finance crisis slide now very quick in the economic crisis or better in the recession.

heard from a neighbour who run successful his own small handicraft business …now he can't sleep in the night stand up in the middle of the night to watch tv everybody is saving the money no work is avail able…the biggest chemical company BASF will stop 80 industrial plants next year for a time because the automobilindustrie need no chemical products….

yes progression at the moment the economy came back to the normal but the financial crisis is so big so we will not have only a recession like usual.i think now came after recession  stagnation it means the prices falls and after recession many people are jobless,hope not that then came inflation this means money get nearly worthless…i think someone under the ebaby members has studied economic history…can you explain in simple words what happens in the finance crisis 1929 till1932 .

i really hope that we not get this.

01:11 PM Nov 20 2008 |

spontan

spontan

Germany

our politican want to support the automobil industrie from the US company General Motors.

 in Germany the GM plants called opel.the german tax payer should pay for the american concern.

01:53 PM Nov 21 2008 |