
125 Depression Era Scarcity
Sep 25th, 2020 by Doc & The Cop
Holy Crap Accomplishment: Depression Era Scarcity
WWI Farmers worked hard to increase productivity
1920s: Farmers struggled with low prices
Newspapers printed names of those on government assistance
1929: Stock Market Crashed – difficult in cities
Couldn’t afford to buy new clothes
Couldn’t pay rent
Young men jumped on train cars to find any job available
1930s: Farming:
Prices dropped: corn 8-10 cents a bushel – some burned corn, cheaper than fuel
Left crops in fields: couldn’t afford to harvest them
Drought: Dust storms
Grandparents: No crops in 1931, 1933 and 1934. 1933- Grandfather planted crops 3 times and never harvested a one.
Shelled corn 2 cents per bushel. Ear corn 2 cents less.
Many sold their livestock, their hope for the future.
Those with livestock, feed them thistles without hay available.
Bankruptcies
Riots – Farmers attacked judges
Formed Labor Unions
Cities:
Manufacturing Output: Dropped 54% of 1929 levels
Unemployment: 25-30%
Bank Panics
1931: Spring and Fall
1932: Fall
1933: Early: Result left only 50% of banks in business
Holy Crap Thinking:
Necessity mother of all invention
Homemade
Save everything
Keep trying
Take advantage of every opportunity
Holy Crap Quote:
“How can you frighten a man whose hunger is not only in his own cramped stomach but in the wretched bellies of his children? You can't scare him--he has known a fear beyond every other.”
John Steinbeck
Holy Crap Challenge:
Think Bigger: Others have had it worse.
Reach Higher: Look beyond the current circumstances
Do the Impossible: Use the lessons from the difficult times to leverage later success