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November 18, 2008

depression 2009 style

Bennettin__1226720389_2673

By looking at what we know about how society and commerce would slow down, and how people respond, it's possible to envision what we might face. Unlike the 1930s, when food and clothing were far more expensive, today we spend much of our money on healthcare, child care, and education, and we'd see uncomfortable changes in those parts of our lives. The lines wouldn't be outside soup kitchens but at emergency rooms, and rather than itinerant farmers we could see waves of laid-off office workers leaving homes to foreclosure and heading for areas of the country where there's more work - or just a relative with a free room over the garage. Already hollowed-out manufacturing cities could be all but deserted, and suburban neighborhoods left checkerboarded, with abandoned houses next to overcrowded ones.

And above all, a depression circa 2009 might be a less visible and more isolating experience. With the diminishing price of televisions and the proliferation of channels, it's getting easier and easier to kill time alone, and free time is one thing a 21st-century depression would create in abundance. Instead of dusty farm families, the icon of a modern-day depression might be something as subtle as the flickering glow of millions of televisions glimpsed through living room windows, as the nation's unemployed sit at home filling their days with the cheapest form of distraction available.

more from Boston Globe Ideas here.

Posted by Morgan Meis at 11:38 AM | Permalink

Comments

I wish you'd say who writes these things, as well as the source. It seems only fair, and sometimes enormously useful when considering whether to click through.

E.g. "More from Drake Bennett's piece in the Boston Globe here."

Why not do that?

Posted by: modefier | Nov 19, 2008 7:00:25 PM

Drake Bennett is a wonderful writer. I knew it was his work just from the 1st graf. I think modefier has a good point -- the writer is a big, big part of what makes a reader click on the link. That's not to say a writer you don't know is a deterrent to clicking. We would serve our readers better, in any case, by consistently providing info about authorship right upfront.

Posted by: Elatia Harris | Nov 19, 2008 8:02:56 PM

I concur - it can't be that hard to note the authorship of something, especially if you've already read it, and considered it worthy of 3QD readership.

Posted by: reader | Nov 20, 2008 12:34:10 PM

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