Recent
U.S. Decades Ranked by Problems1 |
Decade Grade |
Terrible Events |
Bad |
Not Good Events |
Rest of the Story |
1930-39
1A |
Great Depression Dust Bowl |
|
Keynes won the battle with classical economists or did he? |
|
1940-49 1B |
War II4 |
Cold War5 |
Marshal Plan rebuilt Europe and also helped U.S economy. Truman Doctrine
hoped to contain fears about communism. |
|
1910-19
3A |
WW I4 |
Labor Unrest |
Progressive Era continued as US slowly accepted social responsibilities including hookworm parasite elimination which made southern workers and students more productive. | |
1960-69 3B |
Vietnam War |
|
War and Segregation Turmoil dominated the decade. |
|
1950-59 5 |
Cold War5 |
2 Small Recessions |
Economic Expansion grew the middle class. | |
2000-09 |
Two Wars4 |
Terrorism |
Voters accepted Two Tax Cuts and Medicare D expansion but not the increased federal debt. | |
1900-09 7A |
Social Unrest |
Yellow Fever Epidemic3 |
Progressivism began a movement away from Oligopoly Power toward Public
Social
Responsibility. US Yellow Fever3 eliminated. |
|
1970-79 7B |
Stagflation |
Watergate 2 Oil Crises Iran Hostages |
Elderly were Hurt by Inflation and an Inadequate Safety Net. |
|
1980-89 9 |
Recession |
Ronald Reagan Cut Taxes. Deregulation Era Began, Middle Class Wages Stagnated, Home Equity Loans Replaced Home Improvement Loans, Government Debt and Future Liabilities Exploded. | ||
1990-99 10 |
AIDS3 |
A Flat World and Free Trade Continued Middle Class Wage Stagnation. | ||
1920-29 11 |
Small Post |
Economy Expanded as Wall Street and Business Helped Rebuild Europe. |
||
2010-14 ? |
Great Recession Ended Quickly as Government Printed What Could Be Money, Health Care Expanded, Many Already With Government Subsidized Health Insurance2 Abhorred Changes. |
1The devastating effects of wars on the human condition make them the most terrible event. The devastating effects of unemployment on the human condition make it the second most terrible event. Prepared by Walter Antoniotti | 2Company Paid Tax Free Health Insurance, Medicare Over Budget, Veterans Health Care, Medicaid, Hospital Must Help Uninsured with Cost Paid by Society 7/21/15 |
Send Suggestions to antonw@ix.netcom.com
more footnotes on page
2 Visit
20th Century Decade Evaluation Return to http://www.textbooksfree.org/Political%20Economy%20Book%20Summaries.htm Please Share This |
3Health
Problems Solved 1900 US leading killer Tuberculoses would fall steadily to science with only 9,582 2014 cases and 536 mostly foreign born 2011 deaths. 1902 Scarlet Fever deaths peaked at close to 5,000 and then slowly dropped thanks to penicillin. 1905 Last Yellow Fever epidemic killed 20 in US as misquote control eliminated cause. 1936 vaccine ended disease. 1916 Measles 12,000 mostly children died. Vaccine finally eliminated most cases by early 1980's. 1918 Spanish Flu 500,000 died in US. This could have been the cause of the post WW 1 recession. 1921 Diphtheria 206,000 cases, 15,520 deaths, mostly children died. 1951 Fluoride approval began the end of cavity period making the dentist free lives of many people, especially children, much more enjoyable. 1953 Polio 57,628 cases with 21,000 paralyzed Vaccine followed and Polio is now about gone. 1957-58 Asian Flu 70,000 died in US. 1968-69 Hong Kong Flu 34,000 died in US. 1985-95+ AIDS killed ten to twenty thousand per year in 1970's. Annual deaths peaked at 41,699 in mid 1990's and then they quickly dropped due to super drug development and availability. Total US deaths were 658,507. 2011 TB From a 50% kill rate in 1900 cases dropped from 86,304 in 1959 the first year of data availability to 10,528 in 2011. 529 died in 2009. By the 1960's Measles, Mumps, Rubella and a 1995 Chicken Pox vaccines made childhood safer and more enjoyable as did seat belts, infant safety seats, bicycle safety helmets, and 1962 began the era of government sponsored child protective services. |
4U.S.
Cost of War Nineteen-month World War 1 killed 116,516 from all causes with 204,002 wounded in action. A peace treaty severely penalized Germany and divided the Ottoman Empire among the winners. These winners continued their 19th Century Western Colonialism, which planted the seeds for Arab Unrest. Four year World War 2 killed 405,399 from all causes with 670,660 wounded in action. Losers were not punished. Russian Bear having suffered 26.6 military and civilian deaths used their newly occupied eastern European territory to provide a protective buffer. Three year Korean War killed 36,574 with 103,284 wounded in action. South Korea remained free. Japan felt safe and used a small defense budget to build industrial nation.
The very long Vietnam
War2
killed 58,220 with over As of 5/29/12 Iraq War killed 4,425 with 32,223 wounded with few important positive results. |
5Cold
War After WW 2 the Russian Communists seized power in Poland, closed access to Berlin and the Western Allies countered with an airlift. Russia exploded an atomic bomb. Communists won the Chinese Communist Revolution. The 1950-53 Korean War had UN forces fighting against North Korean Communists invaders.Russia exploded a Hydrogen bomb, put down revolts in Poland and Hungary, and launched 2 Sputniks. The 1956 Suez Canal Crisis caused tension between Western allies. Military and political Korean War advisors wanted to use nuclear weapons against China and again wanted them used against China in reference to Taiwan and Formosa. Ike didn't listen. The US 1960 U-2 Spy Plane Incident ended Eisenhower chess game with Communism. It also ended the very brief Paris Peace Conference. Ike tried unsuccessfully for eight years to control a renegade CIA, its fake missile gap and the resulting Military Industrial Complex. JFK didn't listen to his advisors who also wanted to use nuclear weapons in relation to the 1961 Cuban Missile Crisis. A more peaceful blockade settled the crisis. Please Share This |
Recent Bailouts
1975 New York City $1.3b paid back + interest 1979 Chrysler Motors $1.5b paid back + interest 1982 Oklahoma-based Penn Square Bank $65m 1984 Continental Illinois Bank bailout $14b 1980's Savings and Loan Bailouts $124.6b [2] 2009-10 Great Recession TARP cost $24b, Detroit cost $16b Positive results GM and Chrysler workers kept their jobs. Quick action by two administrations helped create a quick US economic recovery while Europe still dilly dallies. At 2% additional economic growth per year the higher GDP is worth about $300 billion/year. |
Determinates of
U.S. Individual Well-Being |