The Old Redneck is worried. Very worried. This Depression is very different from the 1929 Depression and the Old Redneck is wondering if 1929 solutions will work. Or if anything will work.
Read on:::
The Old Redneck and Sweet Thing are in our mid-60's. We are fortunate -- we both worked for 35 or so years in jobs that had fixed pensions; we put max amounts in IRA's and 403b's (a 403b is a 401k for non-profits). Upon our retirements, we swept our money into money market funds and CD's and, for the most part, got out of the market. The Old Redneck inherited enough from his parents' estate to build our home.
Our two adult children are another story. They are twins, a son and a daughter in their early 40's. Son is married with an 18-month-old. Daughter is single. He has a degree in journalism, his wife is director of guidance for a major public school system -- he was laid off from a big-box building supply store three months ago and has no hope of finding another job. Daughter taught high school for six years then quit and went to law school. She was admitted to the VA bar a year ago and has not held a steady job since -- she's picking up contract legal work here and there -- a good month is when she can make her student loan payments, a bad month is when we pay them for her. 40 years old and her father is paying for her car insurance and gas.
Well, back to the point of this diary. The Old Redneck believes that this depression is dramatically different from the 1929 depression for a simple reason: Prior to the 1929 Depression, most Americans lived very modest lives -- long hours, paycheck to paycheck, little or no savings or investments, little or no hope of improving their positions. After the 1929 depression, everyone's standard of living improved and the prosperous American middle class emerged. We emerged from the 1929 Depression in BETTER SHAPE THAN WHEN WE WENT IN.
Not gonna happen this time. Instead, we will emerge from the 2009 Depression WORSE OFF THEN WHEN WE WENT IN.
And what does this mean for my precious 18-month-old grandson?
That's what keeps the Old Redneck awake nights.