Homestead mailing list

[Don Bowen <don.bowen AT earthlink.net>]

At 12/2/2004, you wrote:
> recession to depression?

Those are just words that tend to get redefined.  When they first started 
keeping track of economic events, a sever down turn was called a 
"panic".  That was because people panicked and ran to the banks to get 
their money out.  The panic of 1873 was the worst so to make people feel 
better, they no longer used the word panic to describe a severe economic 
downturn, they used a less threatening word "Depression."  Well, along 
comes the severe economic down turn of the late 20s lasting into the 
30s.  After it was over the economists decided that depression was too 
harsh a word so they started calling them recessions.

Don Bowen
Awl Knotted Up Woodworking
Valley Center, CA             http://www.braingarage.com